An Apprentice to a Sage
by intellectualseeker
Summary: What if the Forbidden Jutsu Scroll was stolen by a six year old Naruto? How much can this tiny change, alter the life of our favorite jinchuriki. Let's find out what changes and what stays the same.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

_A/N: Haven't done a story in a while. Read a Naruto FF and was inspired. _

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**An Apprentice to a Sage**

Prologue

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"One more time. I think I'll have it this time." A young boy, wearing a simple white shirt with a spiral symbol and black shorts, told himself as we wiped the sweat on his forehead with his forearm. He formed a seal with his hands before yelling, "Kage -" He was interrupted however, by a rather hard smack in the back of his head. He quickly turned around, about to go on a tirade on whoever hit him, before he realized who the person was.

"Uzumaki Naruto! I finally found you!" The man wearing a standard issued uniform for konohagakure's ninjas, and has a scar running above his nose, yelled.

"Iruka-sensei, you caught me!" The boy said smiling at his ninja academy teacher, as he rubbed the back of his head. "Man, I only had time to learn one jutsu..."

He watched the clearly guilty, smiling boy infront of him with a small smile, before he remembered the reason he was looking for him. "Naruto, everyone's looking for you! You stole the Forbidden Jutsus scroll from the hokage tower!" He yelled, his face getting redder and redder.

"But Mizuki-sensei said that I could become a hokage, if learned the awesome jutsus from this scroll." He explained in a matter-of-fact kind of voice.

"Mizuki said that?" Iruka asked shocked. "Naruto listen. I know about your dream but you're only six-" He didn't finish as he only had time to push Naruto away and putting his hands up to shield himself from a barrage of kunai knives.

"Good job on finding him." Another ninja who wears his head protector as a head cover, with two dai shurikens on his back, said from a branch of a tall tree.

_'I see. So that's what's going on.'_ The injured academy teacher with kunais stuck on his body, thought as the pieces finally clicked in his mind. He looked at his student and the new comer in anger. "Mizuki..." He growled.

"Naruto! If you want to become a hokage you have to give me the scroll!" Mizuki yelled.

"No! Naruto! Whatever happens, don't give him the scroll! Even if you die!" Iruka ordered the boy.

Naruto looked at both his teachers, panicked and confused. "Wha-What's going on?"

"That's a dangerous scroll that has forbidden techniques written in them! Mizuki used you to get his hands on them!" Iruka yelled before coughing some blood.

Naruto looked at his injured sensei, before glaring at the other. He got up, as chakra started swirl around him.

"There's no point in you having it. I'll tell you why." Mizuki said with a dangerous smirk.

Iruka struggled to breathe before getting up, "No! Mizuki don't!" He yelled, coughing up more blood. _'Damn! I think one of the kunais pierced my lung.'_ he thought, wincing as he breathed.

"Six years ago, you know about the sealing of the Kyuubi right?" Mizuki asked the boy with a grin.

The blonde boy with whisker marks on his face nodded._ 'Who doesn't know about it?'_

"Since that incident, the hokage made a new rule." He said, his eyes filling with mirth. "But Naruto, this rule was never meant to be told to you."

Naruto looked at his injured sensei, struggling to yell something, with worry before turning back to the ninja on the tree. "What rule is this?" he asked with dread, but was only answered by laughter by the man that deceived him. "What... kind of rule is this?"

"The rule is that no one was supposed to say that you are the nine-tailed demon fox!" Mizuki yelled.

Naruto's six year old mind reeled, and he felt the air leave his lungs while his legs buckled. "What... What do you mean?" He asked, stunned.

He smirked, "It means -"

"No! Stop it!" Iruka yelled, ignoring the painful complains in his chest.

"- that you are the Kyuubi who killed Iruka's parents and destroyed the village!" Mizuki finished. "You were sealed by the Hokage that you admire and have been lied to by everyone!" He yelled, as he grabbed one of the dai shurikens form his back. "Didn't you find it odd why everyone hated you? Iruka is the same! He actually hates you!"

_'Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!'_ Naruto yelled in his head, his eyes tightly closed as anger started to bubble from deep inside of him.

'Naruto...' Iruka thought as red chakra started to swirl and envelop his student. He then remembered a conversation he had with the third hokage about the boy.

_"He's never known a parent's love and is hated by all the villagers. He tries to get attention by causing a lot trouble ." The leader of the village said. "He seeks acknowledgement in any possible way." He took a puff from his pipe and sighed._

_Iruka looked at the old man's eyes and saw sadness within them, "He acts tough but really he is suffering..." He heard the man whisper._

Iruka was snapped out of his reverie when he heard his former colleague yell, "Nobody will ever accept you!" He saw Mizuki wind his hand back holding the large shuriken, intending to throw it at the troubled Naruto, and made his move.

Naruto was shocked from his inner turmoil, as he felt someone push him.

"Shit!" Iruka spat as he felt pain from his back, spread towards his whole body.

"Sen-Sensei." Naruto whispered as the man was kneeling on top of him, blood dripping everywhere and a dai shuriken stuck on his back. "Why?"

"When my parents died... There was nobody to compliment me or acknowledge me... I was so sad..." He whispered, tears welling up in his eyes. "I acted like an idiot to get people's attention since I wasn't great in school and got attention that way. Being known as funny and an idiot was better than nothing so I kept acting that way... It was so sad." He said, a sob escaping his lips.

"Sensei..." Naruto said quietly, shocked at his teacher crying.

"You must've been in so much pain Naruto. I'm sorry... If only I had done a better job, then you wouldn't feel like this." He said, tears dripping from his face.

Naruto dropped the scroll and quickly removed the shurikens and the kunais from his sensei's body. He then carefully helped him lean on a tree close by.

"Naruto..." Iruka tried to say, as blood escaped from his lips.

"Don't say any more sensei." The boy said, tears welling up from his eyes.

"Don't listen to Mizuki..." He coughed out. "You are not the nine-tailed demon fox... You are you, Uzumaki Naruto and I acknowledge you as my student and as a citizen of konohagakure."

Naruto couldn't hold back the tears that fell from his eyes as he heard the words he's been longing for all his life, from his broken teacher.

"You must always protect this village as one of its' citizens." Iruka said smiling, even as tears continued to fall from his eyes. "Don't let Mizuki get the scroll." He coughed.

He was about to say something, but was interrupted by a loud laughter. Naruto turned and saw his former teacher land beside the forbidden jutsus scroll, and grab the other dai shuriken from his back.

"That would've been touching if it wasn't so funny." He said wiping his eyes. "I was just going to steal the scroll, but now I'll do the village a service and get rid of a couple of idiots from it."

Naruto clenched his fists, his longer than normal canines showing. "Don't touch it." He growled, surprising the other ninja by the amount of killing intent coming from the child.

"Shut up and die!" The ninja yelled as he wound his hand back intending to throw the large shuriken, but his eyes widened when Naruto suddenly vanished and he was suddenly hit in the face hard. He blearily opened his eyes that are welling up with tears as he gingerly touched his broken nose._ 'Shit! What was that?'_ he asked.

"Don't move or I'll kill you." Naruto ordered standing there beside the scroll on the ground.

"Then try and do it Demon fox!" Mizuki yelled at the boy that was surrounded by red chakra as he grabbed a kunai from his hip pouch and running towards the boy who was forming a seal with his hands.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" Naruto yelled, and the forest was suddenly turned yellow and white, along with the twin looks of astonishment from the two academy teachers with him, as thousands of Kage Bunshins appeared among them.

"Naruto..." Iruka whispered.

"What the hell is this?" Mizuki asked panicked.

"I'll pay you back a thousand fold for what you did to Iruka-sensei!" Naruto yelled as all the Naruto clones attacked the treacherous ninja.

The clones moved away from a soundly beaten up Mizuki twitching on the ground. The real Naruto placed the scroll on the ground and knelt beside his beloved sensei who's both pale and breathing laboriously. "Iruka-sensei..." Naruto whispered.

Iruka opened his eyes, and smiled. "I'm so proud of you Naruto." He whispered. "I have no doubt that someday, you will be a Hokage." He said, as he coughed up more blood. "Just promise me you will always protect this village." He asked weakly.

Naruto nodded, as a sob escaped his lips. "Yes, sensei. I promise." He swore as tears fell from his eyes, dripping all over his sensei's pant leg.

Iruka smiled and nodded. "Naruto I..." He whispered. "I..." But never finished as his body slumped against the tree.

The blonde boy's eyes suddenly widened. "Sen-Sensei?" He asked the man who looked to be peacefully sleeping. "Iruka-sensei?" He asked louder, shaking the ninja by the shoulders, his voice laced with panic.

He angrily swiped the tears that sprang from his eyes."Are you just going to stand there and keep watching? Help him!" Naruto yelled, to the surprise of the Special Ops ninja squad, who was around him.

_'He knew we were here?'_ Thought by the surprised ANBU squad. "Uzumaki Naruto, you are under arrest for treason." The squad leader said, fixing his animal painted face mask, as he appeared out of his hiding spot.

"I will take whatever punishment you give me, but please help Iruka-sensei." Naruto responded looking helplessly at the mask wearing men, as they slowly converged on him.

Naruto looked the man who stood infront of him with pleading eyes. "Please-" He felt something hit him in the back of his head before falling unconscious.

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Sarutobi Hiruzen, Konohagakure's Sandaime Hokage, rubbed his face tiredly. He's been sitting at the head of the council table for two hours now. He picked his ear as the council members proceeded to continue yelling over each other, after he explained to the council what the young Jinchuriki told him and what the ANBU gathered from Mizuki's mind.

"He must be executed for treason!" A clan head yelled.

"What if that unleashes the Fox? No, he should be banished from the village." Yelled another.

"He's a military asset to the village." A very distinct voice said. Everyone turned towards a man in bandages sitting at the other end of the table.

"Military asset? He almost gave our "military asset" to a traitor! Execute him!" A council member argued.

"Sarutobi wouldn't let that happen. He's getting soft in his old age." A Hyuuga member of the council said.

"Enough!" The hokage yelled, backed up by a massive killing intent, not so subtly reminding everyone why he was the hokage. "This is getting us nowhere." He sighed. "Write down what you think is the correct decision regarding the boy and give them to me before you leave. This council is adjourned."

Everyone quickly wrote down their opinion on the matter on a piece of paper and gave it to the Hokage who collected them, before leaving the room grumbling among each other.

_'That was long.'_ He thought as he closed his eyes and tiredly rubbed his temples. "When did you get back?"

"Just now. I heard about what happened to the boy." A voice said.

Sarutobi opened his eyes and smiled a genuine smile. A man with crazy white hair, a unique forehead protector with two small horns on his head and was wearing a red vest over a green 'gi' (martial arts uniform). He was crouched on top of the window sill with a big grin on his face.

"You're getting better Jiraiya. I didn't even feel your presence until you were close to the tower." The old man said.

"You and your crazy chakra sensing..." The famous toad-sannin said. "How have you been Sarutobi-sensei?"

"Not too bad, until a few hours ago." He replied. "Naruto decided to steal the Forbidden Jutsus Scroll."

"So I've heard, but it wasn't his fault." Jiraiya retorted. "You know this."

"Yes... unfortunately, this isn't just my decision. The boy technically committed treason, which falls in military jurisdiction... The council has to be involved." The hokage explained. "And looking through everyone's opinions, it's either execution or banishment." He said sadly, holding the pieces of paper in his hands.

Jiraiya took off his gear and a giant scroll off his back, before sitting down in one of the chairs. He crossed his arms on his chest while putting his feet up on the table. "So... what are you going to do sensei?"

"Right now, all I can do to stop the council's decision is by exposing his parentage. However, I don't know if it's worth the risk..." The old man said uncertainly.

"...Minato had too many enemies, especially from Iwagakure. The boy's life WILL be in danger." The man with his feet up said thoughtfully, looking at the ceiling.

"The boy's life is in danger right now. We'll worry about the risks later." The old man said angrily. "I just can't believe how much the villagers hate that boy... Minato sacrificed his life for them, and this is how they repay him, knowingly or not."

The two men sat in contemplative silence, before the old man suddenly sat up. "Why don't you take him?"

Jiraiya looked at the old man who was looking at him with a smile. "Huh?"

"Take him with you. It'll be perfect! He's Minato's son. You have to!" The old man insisted, getting giddy.

"But-"

"You can tell him about his parents..."

"No wait-"

"Teach him his father's jutsus..."

"What-"

"You can teach him how to become a hokage!" The old man finished, surprising the sannin.

"He... He wants to become a hokage?" Jiraiya asked with a big smile on his face.

"Yup. That's his dream." Sarutobi said with a smile. "This is where he lives..." He gave Jiraiya the directions to the boy's apartment. "I'm going to say that he ran away from the village."

"Won't the hunter-nins look for him?" The Toad sannin asked.

"No, because he isn't a ninja, or a member of a prominent clan. The villagers would probably celebrate..." He said sadly.

This made Jiraiya frown. His eyes steeled and a smile cracked across his face. "Okay. I've decided to take him as my apprentice."

"Perfect!" The hokage yelled excitedly. "In a few years he can come back and take the genin exam."

"No, he won't be taking the genin exam." The sannin said coldly.

"What do you mean? He can't be a ninja if he doesn't become a genin." The old man said confused.

"I won't allow him to become a ninja. I won't let him to be forced to follow the folies of these old farts who want him dead." He said, pointing at the empty seats of the council members.

"Not a ninja? But he has to learn to protect himself and the village to achieve his dream." Sarutobi argued.

"Oh he will learn the ninja arts, but he won't become one. Besides, you don't have to be a ninja to become a hokage, it isn't one of its prerequisites. He just needs to be able to protect the village and beat out the other candidates." The sannin said with a devilish smirk.

The old man nodded at this. "That is true."

Jiraiya got up, slung his gear and scroll on his back, and walked towards the open window. He placed one of his feet on the sill before looking over his shoulder at his old sensei. "Namikaze Naruto will become my Sage apprentice." He said, before jumping off the window sill and disappearing into the night.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure, looked out the window towards the hokage monument with a smile. "...now this will be interesting won't it Minato?"

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Jutsu list

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu **- Shadow Clone Technique

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_A/N: What do you guys think? Leave your comments in the review section._


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

_A/N: Frist official chapter =)_

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**An Apprentice to a Sage**

The client

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Uzumaki Naruto, sage apprentice to one of Konoha's sannin, rubbed his eyes as he slowly woke up. He slowly got out of his sleeping bag, before rolling it up. He drowsily adjusted his orange scarf which was wrapped around his neck, while flattening his white shirt. He tightened the bottom of his black sweat pants over his black shinobi sandals and looked at his still sleeping master. It's been a whole year since Jiraiya and Naruto left konoha, the latter did so very reluctantly.

"Lazy ass... I guess we won't be sparring this morning." He said, before walking off towards the sound of running water and came across a small stream. He took off his scarf and shirt before bending over and drinking some water.

"Fresh water tastes amazing!" He yelled, dunking his whole head underwater.

He pulled himself out of the water and ran his hands through his blond spiky hair. He then grabbed a folded towel on the ground beside him to wipe himself dry. However, before he could do that, the sound of rushing air made him quickly roll back before jumping away and landing into a crouch. His eyes suddenly widened, as several shirukens struck the ground he was just standing on, tearing the towel he was about to use, apart. He quickly straightened up a kunai in each hand as he scanned his surroundings.

"That was my last towel damn it!" Naruto yelled in anger.

The forest was eerily quiet except for some distant bird calls. He suddenly jumped away, as a man with crazy white hair suddenly came out of the ground, intending to give him a nasty uppercut. They both landed on top of the water, both floating thanks to the chakras coming out of their feet.

They both fell into stances, clear blue eyes meeting shiny ebony ones as they stared each other down. As if on cue, both started moving, rapidly closing the distance between each other. Naruto went on the offensive, while the other dodged and blocked.

"Your attacks are getting more and more efficient, Naruto." Jiraiya, the boy's master, critiqued. "but this won't be enough to beat me." He said, before dodging one of the boy's attacks which he overextended, giving the sannin an opening. He gave the blond boy a rather hard kick in the head.

However, the said boy suddenly turned into smoke, making him hastily jump away as a barrage of shurikens hit the water. He looked up towards the sun, where five Naruto silhouettes were falling at him fast.

"Here I come ero-sennin!" He yelled as the five Naruto's descended on him, attacking in tandem and working with each other.

Jiraiya smiled as he continued to dodge and block, only countering when an opening presented itself. "Very good. You're timing with your clones is very good, and you're creativity really shows with your attacks, but it isn't enough." He said to the three remaining Naruto's.

"You're still too slow."_ 'POOF'_

"You're moves are still too predictable." _'POOF'_

"And you're still relying too much on your senses."_ 'POOF'_

Jiraiya was surprised to find out that the last one was a clone too. _'I thought that would be the real one for sure.'_

He was even more shocked when a pair of hands suddenly sprang from underground and grabbed both of his feet, making him unable to move away. He didn't have time to pull his legs free as he was hit consecutively.

"U-" Jiraiya was hit with an uppercut to the chin, lifting him off the ground.

"Zu-" He was then kicked upwards from behind.

"Ma-" Followed by an elbow to the gut.

"Ki-" Then a knee to the face.

Finally, as he started to fall to the ground, his arms were grabbed from behind. "Naruto Rendan!" The blond boy yelled as Jiraiya felt himself being kneed in the back, driving him to the ground face first.

Naruto slowly stood up as dust clouded around him. He was shocked to see that at the bottom of the small crater he formed was a smashed log. He had time to say "Damn it!" before he was hit from behind and falling unconscious.

He slowly woke up to the smell of cooking fish. He slowly sat up and painfully rubbed the back of his head. "Ugh... what happened?"

"Your last move would've really been painful if you got me, but I was able to replace myself with a log." A voice replied. "Come have some lunch."

Naruto grumbled about 'stupid perverted old man', before sitting down and grabbing a skewered fish from the fire.

"You know Naruto, It's amazing that it has only been a year since I've started teaching you. Your Taijutsu has come a long way. You've trained really hard with your shadow clones." This mad the boy smile. "However, it isn't good enough for me to start teaching you ninjutsu."

Naruto groaned, remembering the deal that he made with the sannin when he left konoha.

_'A ninja must master the art of taijutsu above all else. I know many great ninjutsu and genjutsu masters die in the hands of a taijutsu expert. It's essential to master this style because it requires no chakra for you to beat your opponents.' Jiraiya explained. 'Until I deem your taijutsu good enough, I won't be teaching you any ninjutsus.' He declared to a grumbling Naruto a year ago._

"I know ero-sennin... I'll train even harder." He said.

"Nope, not today. We're going into town today to take on a job." The toad sage said in between bites.

"Why?" Naruto asked. "I've got to do my calligraphy and chakra control in the afternoon."

"Our funds are getting low and I've got to do more research for my book..." This made Naruto smirk, while Jiraiya went glossy-eyed and a slight coloring appeared on his cheeks. The pair have been living off the money they make doing odd jobs here and there. It was mostly Naruto doing the work, using the excuse of extra training for the boy, while Jiraiya went off and did some research for the book he's writing. "Pack our camp after we eat. We're going right away."

Naruto got up grumbling. He grabbed both his and his master's gear and slung them on his back. "Lazy perverted sensei." He said, glaring at the back of said man.

"You're not walking on the road gaki. You're running on the trees." Jiraiya said evilly. "Think of it as chakra control training."

The boy's jaw dropped. "B-but it's too heavy! You've got so much shit! And you've got this stupid ass giant scroll!" He yelled, slapping the said scroll.

"Stop swearing. You're the only seven year old kid I know who swears like sailor." He said with a frown.

"You've only got yourself to blame for that." The boy answered with a shrug.

"True." Jiraiya responded, while rubbing his chin. "Whatever. Anyways, you better not drop a single thing or you're not getting dinner tonight." The man said before taking off on the road.

Naruto sighed and jumped on top a branch landing steadily with the help of chakra. "Fucking lazy bastard." He spat before jumping unsteadily towards the next branch.

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Naruto, panting and sweating, leaned against the wall of a small bath house in Shukabu village, located at the border of Fire and Tea country. He's a little vexed because he had been running around the village looking for his sensei. "Here's your shit!" He yelled, unceremoniously dropping everything he was carrying while glaring daggers at the crouched sannin.

"Shhh!" He hissed at his young apprentice. "You're going to get us caught."

This made the boy reel back, before sighing. "Is this part of your research ero-sennin?"

"No, gaki. I'm doing some background checks on our client." The man answered, peeking at a small hole on the wooden wall of the bath house.

"Our client? She's in there?" Naruto asked. "Which one?"

"That one right there. The brunette sitting on the left." Jiraiya pointed out to his apprentice who made another small hole on the wall. "Miss Taeko Terumi."

"Wow!" The boy whispered loudly. "Those things are enormous!"

"I know gaki... I know..." The man writing on a small notebook said, before wiping the blood dripping from his nose with the back of his hand.

"So... how are we doing this?" Naruto asked. "Am I going to pretend to be a lost boy looking for his parents again?"

"No, not that one. That one is only good for MILFs. This one's a little younger. Here's what we do..." The two planned their 'attack'.

"Got it gaki?"

"Got it sensei."

They were about to move when they were both hit at the same time on the head. They both turned quickly to find a younger copy of the woman they were just spying on.

"What are you two doing?" The young girl wearing a purple kunoichi outfit, her shoulder length hair tied into a ponytail, demanded.

Naruto quickly stepped up. "I was just helping this old man. He fell and seemed to have hurt himself." He explained.

The young girl looked at the weird man with crazy white hair. "What were you doing here old man?" She asked suspiciously.

"Oh nothing my dear. I was just out for a stroll when I fell and this kind young man was helping me." He answered with a smile.

The girl eyed him suspiciously before nodding. "Alright. Let's get you up then." She said, grabbing one of Jiraiya's arms and started to pull him up.

"No, no it's okay. I'm sure this boy can do it. You can just run along now." Jiraiya said pulling Naruto towards him.

"But the two of us-" She didn't finish as she noticed something odd. "Old man the back of your head is smoking." She said pointing at him.

"Huh?" The sannin asked unintelligently, before turning away and grabbing his head. "What are you talking about?" He asked.

Naruto noticed a small cloud of smoke from behind the man. "It's true!"

The three turned to see steam coming out of the small holes on the wall.

"Why are there holes on the bath house's wall?" She screeched, her cheeks slowly turning red. "You were peeking weren't you?" She accused animatedly, making her bangs fall on her face.

"No-"

"Wait-"

"PERVERTS!" The young girl's scream was the last thing the two heard before everything went black.

.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes and quickly winced as he felt his head throbbing. He groggily sat up and realized there were people talking around him.

"...apologize. I didn't know you were the ones that was going to take the job. Are you alright? I didn't mean to freak out." A woman's voice said. "I certainly wasn't expecting the bath house owner to come out and whack you two on the head with bats."

"No, it's alright Taeko-san. It was just a simple misunderstanding." The distinct voice of his master said.

"Ugh..." Naruto groaned.

"Naruto-kun, are you alright?" A voice asked, while a feeling of someone's soft palm being pressed on his forehead made him quickly look up.

A slow blush crept up to his face as the beautiful face of their client came into focus. "Y-yes. Taeko-san was it?" He asked. "I'll be alright."

The woman, wearing a white shirt and black tight leggings quickly straightened up and smiled. "Alright then. As soon as you are both ready, just come out. Dinner is ready." She said, walking out of the room with her long wavy hair cascading behind her, and closing the door softly.

The pair quickly put on their sandals and left the room they were in. They noticed they were in an old apartment, as they heard noises of neighbors coming through the walls. The place was filled with clothes neatly stacked on top of each other and boxes filled with an assortment of garments.

They walked around until they came upon the kitchen. A genuine smile appeared on their face as they saw the two girls sitting on the dining table. They quickly sat down, hungrily eyeing the modest meal that were prepared for them.

"Itadakimasu!" They yelled as they dug in with gusto.

"This is delicious!" Naruto exclaimed.

"It really is Taeko-san!" Jiraiya agreed.

"I didn't cook this. Mei-chan did." She said pointing at the young girl who were glaring daggers at them.

Unperturbed, Jiraiya grinned. "Thank you for the meal Mei-chan!"

The little girl growled. "Don't thank me! If it wasn't for my sister, I would never cook for a pair of perverts like you!" She yelled, pointing at them.

"But-"

"I saw you! You were peeking in on her while she was taking a bath!" She continued. "Don't bother denying it! I caught you!"

"Mei-chan that's enough." Taeko said sternly. "They're our guests."

The young girl Mei, looked at her sister in frustration before sighing in exasperation. She glared at them dirtily. "She might believe you for now, but I won't!" She yelled before storming off into her room and slamming the door shut.

"I'm sorry. She's just a little protective of me because of what happened when she... when we were young. " she said sadly.

Naruto swallowed before asking. "What happened?"

Taeko eyed the two sitting around the table, before sighing. "Four years ago, when I was sixteen and Mei was about five years old. A group of ninja attacked our home back in Kirigakure." She said sadly. "Father tried to reason with them, then tried to fight them when the negotiations failed." Her eyebrows knitted together. "My father was a good fighter but he was outnumbered and they eventually k-killed h-him." She said, getting up and looking out at the small village through the window. "Mom... they..." She took a steadying breath. "...they raped her... right in front of us." Tears started to fall from her eyes. "They forced us to watch as they..." She shut her eyes, as painful flashbacks appeared in her mind. "...anyways, they killed her after and they decided to come after us. I don't really remember the details, but I remember screaming for my life before passing out." She said frowning, tears still falling down her cheeks. "When I came to, the ninjas were gone while my sister were crying over my parents bodies."

"I'm sorry." Naruto whispered.

"I never figured out why they attacked us..." She said softly. "Anyways, we ran away and have been living here together ever since." She said with a sad smile.

A long silence ensued after, each lost in their own thoughts before Jiraiya cleared his throat. "So, what is this job that you want us to do?" He asked.

The beautiful brunette wiped the tears off her face with her hands. "I want you to escort us to our hometown, the village of bubbling springs, near the border of Kirigakure." She said looking at their eyes. "I plan on opening a clothing business there."

"But I heard there's a civil war going on over there. Are you sure that's the best place for someone to open a business at?" Jiraiya asked.

"I'm sure my parents would want us to." She answered. "The money we make would enable us to help the people over there that are being ravaged by the war."

"Hmmm...Kirigakure..." Jiraiya thought out loud.

She steepled her fingers over the table. "Now let's talk about payment-"

"You don't have to pay us for this job." Naruto suddenly said, surprising Taeko and Jiraiya.

"That's absurd!" The woman yelled. "I can't let you do something like this for free. Jiraiya-sama I-"

"It's okay Miss Terumi." Jiraiya said smiling, getting up and putting his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I agree with my young apprentice. If you pay for the travel cost of this trip, then you don't have to pay us." This made Naruto smile at him before turning towards her.

Taeko eyed the pair, before sighing. "T-Thank you Jiraiya-sama, Naruto-kun." She said with a small bow. "If you're sure about this arrangement then we'll leave early tomorrow morning, so go get some sleep. I'll just clean up the table."

"You don't need help?" Naruto asked, pointing at the dirty plates on the table.

"No I'll be fine. It's the least I can do for you guys." She said smiling.

"Alright we're going to bed then. Thanks for the meal." Jiraiya said leading his young apprentice towards the room they were in.

Taeko Terumi watched the two retreating forms with a small smile. She then started to stack the dirty plates with one thought in her mind. _'Free huh?'_ She thought with a smirk while shaking her head.

The next day, Naruto was up and early, helping their client, Taeko Terumi, with packing all the boxes they were bringing on a cart.

"Where's that stupid old man?" Naruto asked out loud while he secured the box he just brought on the cart with a rope.

"He said he was going to the market to grab some supplies." A voice behind a big box said. "Here you go Naruto-kun."

Naruto grabbed the box and piled it up on top of another. "Taeko-san, I can do this. You don't have to bring them here for me, they are pretty heavy."

"It's okay." She said. "And will you stop calling me Taeko-san." Frowning, she continued. "Makes me sound old. Just call me Taeko-chan or Nee-chan."

Naruto laughed, scratching the back of his head as he did so. "You're our client, that's why I call you Taeko-san, but if you insist then I'll start calling you Taeko-chan or Nee-chan from now on."

"Good!" She said, winking at him. "I'll just go and wake up Mei so she can help us out as well."

"No need." A voice behind them said. "I'm awake."Mei declared before throwing a box at the boy on top of the cart. Naruto caught it easily, which made the young girl glare.

"Looks like everyone is here!" Jiraiya said happily handing Naruto's gear to him, which the boy quickly strapped on his back. "Are we ready?"

"Yes." Taeko said with a smile.

Naruto secured the last box on the cart, before hopping off. "Good to go ero-sennin."

Everyone turned towards the young girl, who grunted and sat at the front of the cart.

"Yosh! Let's go!" The white haired man yelled. "I'll be in the front. Gaki, you're in the back."

"What about the cart?" The boy asked, securing his scarf around his neck.

"What about it?" Jiraiya asked. "You're pushing it of course."

"What?" Taeko asked in outrage. "It's too heavy. How would he be able to do that?"

"It's okay Taeko-chan." He said with a smile. "Consider it as part of my training." He made a seal with his hands. "**Kage bunshin no jutsu**!" With a _'POOF'_, three Naruto's stood there, surprising the two girls. "Okay, both of you will be pushing this thing." He slapped the side of the cart, while he directed his clones.

"What about you boss?" One of the clones asked.

"I'll be pulling in the front." He answered.

"But we won't be able to see Taeko-chan's butt from back here." Complained the other, making everyone but the young girl sitting on top of the cart laugh.

"Shut up!" The real Naruto yelled, a slight tinge appearing on his cheeks. "Just go back there and push."

"Pervert..." Mei grumbled.

"But that wasn't me Mei-chan." He argued. "He's a clone."

"Whatever. And it's Mei-san to you!" She commanded.

"What? Why?"

"Because I'm your client and I'm three years older than you." She answered with a superior tone. "Now, go pull the cart."

Naruto glared at her before grudgingly turning around and pulling the cart she was on. "Brat!" He said under his breath.

"What was that?" The girl asked.

"Nothing Mei-san!" He answered sarcastically before childishly sticking his tongue out at her. The two adults at the front laughed at their antics.

Taeko Terumi smiled and looked up at the sky._ 'We're going home.' _She thought. She then frowned at the man infront of her who was looking at a map._ 'I can't believe they're doing this for free... Just what are you up to? Jiraiya-sama, Densetsu no Sannin of konohagakure...'_ She thought as they started their journey towards the country of water.

* * *

Jutsu list

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** - Shadow Clone Jutsu

* * *

_A/N: This is the first ARC of the story._


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Actually, I'm not really sure who does.

_A/N: Thank you for all the reviews you've all left. I hope I was able to answer some of your concerns. If I didn't I'll keep trying. =)_

* * *

...

**An Apprentice to a Sage**

Secrets

...

Mei Terumi, a survivor of the civil war that is still raging on at the Land of Water, sighed. She's been tossing and turning inside her dark tent, seemingly unable to sleep. She exhaled again, blowing away the long bangs that fell on her face. She stared at the point where the flexible poles that support the tent up intersect, while thoughts swirled in her mind.

It's been a week since they left Shukabu village, heading towards the land of the waves. There, they're going to get on a boat that will take them across the sea to Kiri. However, right now, their travel isn't what was bothering her.

_'This is stupid.' She thought. 'Why can't I sleep?'_ She asked, even though deep down she knew the answer. _'Those two...'_

Mei hated shinobis. Ever since that tragic night, she's always hated them, cold, heartless and uncaring killing machines...

_'Shinobis.'_ She spat the word like it was the most disgusting thing to ever exist.

Although, there was just something about their two travel companions -

_'Travel companions because apparently, they're now doing this job for free... so it'd be wrong to call them hired company. Right?'_ She thought.

Anyways, they had something that contradicted everything she knew about shinobis. She couldn't figure it out until the dinner they had tonight.

_"Jiraiya-sama, how come both of you aren't wearing your hitai-ites? Aren't you Konoha ninjas?" Taeko-chan asked the white haired man putting skewers of fish beside their campfire, to cook._

_The man turned and smiled. "Good observational skills Taeko-chan." He praised, before sitting down cross-legged on the ground. "I don't wear one because... you could say I'm a special ninja for the village. I'm not even really part of the village anymore. I do special favors for the Hokage because I owe him, but other than that? No."He answered. "Don't get me wrong. I love that village it's just... the things that tied me down to that place are gone." He said uncharacteristically solemn with pained eyes._

_"What about him?" Mei asked, pointing at the whiskered boy doing calligraphy off to the side._

_"Naruto?" Jiraiya asked with a small smile. "He's not one." He said, giving everyone a skewer of freshly cooked fish._

_"He sure trains like one." Taeko said watching the boy._

_"He's my apprentice." He stated, before taking a big bite off his dinner. "I'm training him so he can achieve his dreams." The toad sannin told them after he swallowed a mouthful of fish._

_"Which is?" The sisters both asked at the same time, their interests piqued._

_"To become the Hokage and get everyone to acknowledge me." Naruto answered grinning, paintbrush in his hands._

_"This dobe?" Mei asked the sannin incredulously. "Like hell he is! He'd be the worst Hokage ever. I swear he's the loudest, most perverted kid in the world!" She yelled, pointing her skewered fish at the said boy, who dropped his brush._

_"No I'm not!" He yelled back._

_"Yes you are!" _

_"No I'm not! That's Ero-sennin!"_

_"Hey-"_

_"Yes you are! I saw you peeking at Taeko-chan when she was taking a bath at the river today!"_

_"He was?"_

_"Yes Gaki!"_

_"No I wasn't! Shut up Ero-sennin! Taeko-chan, I was just watching your butt- I mean your back just in case something happens."_

_"You liar! You said butt!" Mei yelled before throwing a rock at the boy's head._

Mei smiled at the memory, shaking her head in the darkness. _'They're not shinobis... which is good.'_ She thought. Her nose suddenly crinkled _'But there's one thing I hate more than shinobis. Perverts.' _She told herself with a small smile.

_'And those two are definitely perverts. At least the boy isn't as bad as his master.' _She said glaring up at the tent's ceiling. Suddenly, she sat up frowning. _'Speaking of which, where are those two?' _She thought after she noticed that the annoying sound of those two's snores were nonexistent.

She turned to her sleeping sister, watching her as she slowly and silently snuck out of their tent. She looked around their campsite bathed in moonlight. The campfire have long since died, leaving tiny embers, struggling to keep themselves from fading out of existence. She looked at the two empty sleeping bags owned by their 'escorts' and frowned. She looked around at the quiet forest and noticed a small orange glow deep within the forest with sounds of battle coming from a distance.

She silently stalked towards the sound, cursing under her breath from time to time as she got little nicks here and there from things protruding from the forest floor. "Whatever could possibly be happening at this ungodly hour?" She whispered harshly to no one.

She pushed through a rather big bush and gasped. She came across a small clearing, the ground filled with small craters and small brush fires here and there. Mei scanned the area and saw Jiraiya standing with an injured Naruto in the middle, surrounded by three masked men with varying degrees of injuries.

On cue, the two parties suddenly moved, Jiraiya taking two masked men while Naruto battled against the other.

"They're from konoha..." Mei whispered as the man Naruto was fighting with, landed near her, enough for her to see their insignias. However, before she could try to figure out what was going on, the said man suddenly turned his masked face towards her.

"What- Mei?" Naruto asked, panicked at the sight of the girl. "Shit!"

Hearing this, Jiraiya quickly looked at his apprentice and noticed where he was running towards. _'I guess I better end this quick.'_

Mei watched in horror as the man suddenly appeared in front of her. She vaguely noticed Naruto running towards her, as her instincts yelled for her to scream. Though, before she could, the man suddenly turned around, his hands moving quickly. "**Chakra Kyuuin no jutsu**!" She heard him yell before disappearing and capturing the injured boy in a headlock, his hands glowing.

Naruto struggled, his strength leaving him as he tried to breath. He locked eyes with the young terrified girl, bright blue to sea-foam green. "Mei-chan... run..." He whispered before passing out.

The masked man sighed, before quickly turning around. "I've got him, let's go!" He yelled before he was hit hard on the side of the head, making him drop the unconscious boy.

The masked man struggled to get up, and look around. He noticed his two teammates downed not too far from where he landed. "What-" He wasn't able to do anything more as a frowning sannin suddenly appeared in front of him, punching him hard in the gut, expelling all the air from his lungs.

"Say hello to Danzo-sama for me." Jiraiya spat before kneeing the masked man at the side of his head, effectively knocking him out.

The crazy haired sannin, picked up his unconscious apprentice before walking towards the bush where Mei was petrified. "Are you alright Mei-chan?" He asked. The terrified young girl could only nod in response. "Come, let's go back."

.

* * *

"Ugh..." Naruto groaned. "Why do I always get knocked out?" He asked no one in particular.

"Good morning Naruto-kun." Someone greeted, which he realized to be Taeko-chan as his vision cleared.

"Morning." He responded lifelessly as he found his bearings. He realized he was lying in the back of the cart, boxes moved to the side to make room for him to lie down and Taeko-chan's beautiful face hovering over him, making him blush.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Like shit." He answered honestly as he sat up and cradled his head with his hands. "Where are we?" He asked, noticing that the sun was almost at its peak and that his arm was covered in bandages.

"We're just about to enter the city of the waves." Jiraiya, who was at the front, impressively pulling the heavy cart with one hand, answered.

"What happened? Where's Mei-chan?" He asked, his voice panicky.

"It's Mei-san to you!" A voice yelled from the front of the cart.

Naruto quickly stood up, steadying himself on the moving cart with chakra, and sighed in relief. "Sorry, Mei-san." He answered jokingly, relief evident in his voice.

"You suffered from chakra exhaustion last night." Jiraiya told him. "Naruto, we really need to work on your speed."

"Yes... I know..." He said softly, before jumping off the cart.

"Naruto! You should be taking it easy!" Taeko yelled in concern as she crawled towards the front of the cart.

"Don't worry Taeko Nee-chan. I'm fine." He said and started to walk beside his master.

"Naruto I've got something to help you build your speed, but it'll be bothersome." Jiraiya said, fishing through his pack.

"Whatever ero-sensei, bring it on." The boy responded as he grabbed the handle bar of the cart and started to pull.

Jiraiya took out four orange wristbands with seals on them. "Put two of them on your wrists and two around your ankles." He instructed.

Noticing that the cart stopped, Taeko and Mei watched while Naruto took off his sandals and placed the bands around his ankles and wrists.

"What are those?" Mei asked. "They look stupid."

"These are training devices that I've created. If I apply chakra on the seals, those things get heavier." Demonstrating as he answered. "I'm putting about five pounds of weight on each of them for you Naruto, and we'll gradually increase it the stronger you get."

Naruto nodded as he slowly got up, awkwardly testing his arms and legs before he smiled. "I'll get strong quick." He said, striking a victory pose.

"Alright, now do your job." Jiraiya said as he took out a map and left Naruto to pull the cart.

It was well past noon when they finally arrived at the port city. They quickly went to the docks and bought tickets for the cheapest and earliest crossing ship, before grabbing a quick lunch at a nearby eatery, as a couple of Naruto's clones looked after their cart and luggage.

"Jiraiya-sama, why did those guys attack you last night?" The little girl eating dango asked.

Jiraiya looked at her, then at her curious sister before sighing. "I can't really say much about the subject for it is Naruto's secret to keep." He looked at his apprentice who finished his meal quickly and is currently outside, awkwardly practicing katas because of the weights. "Let's just say someone wants to bring Naruto back to Konoha, willingly or not."

The sisters also turned to watch the boy thoughtfully, knowing that the questions forming in their heads won't be answered easily.

Mei squinted her eyes as she studied him. _'I wonder what secret he's hiding?'_

Naruto was in the middle of the air, about to perform a round house kick when memories of his clone suddenly bombarded his mind. This made him lose his balance, making him fall face first on the ground. This was made worst when he noticed, Mei laughing hysterically at him, through the restaurant's window.

Grumbling about 'stupid brats', he entered the place. "My clone said that the ship is about to leave."

The group quickly made it to the pier where Naruto's clone told them that their luggage are already onboard before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. They got on the modest sized ship and watched as other passengers clambered on, carrying an array of luggage, big and small. The four retired to their cabin as soon as the ship departed from the port towards the setting sun. The four shared a room, to lessen their travel cost; the sisters taking the beds while the men took out their sleeping bags. Once settled, they ate dinner which was to Naruto's delight, cup ramens before getting ready for bed. Well, the sisters got ready for bed, while the master and apprentice moved to the deck to do some light training and sparring with Naruto's weights on.

.

* * *

Both Taeko and Mei quickly sat up, suddenly awakened by a huge explosion that reverberated through the boat. They both looked at the spot where their escorts were supposed to be sleeping, only to realize that the sleeping bags were devoid of life. Quickly putting on a robe, Taeko rushed out of the room with Mei in her heels.

They dodged through panicking passengers and went out on the deck. There they saw Jiraiya and a bunch of Naruto's fighting a group of ninjas.

"Naruto-kun! Watch out!" Taeko-chan yelled, as she saw another ninja coming from behind the blond boy.

He quickly ducked under a kunai swipe that would've decapitated him, and gave the surprised shinobi a kick on the chin, sending him flying off the deck. The other ninjas turned towards their beaten comrade then at the sisters, and their eyes widened.

"The targets have been located!" Yelled one.

"Confirmed! The Terumi survivors are on board, proceed with the assassination mission!" The ninja who seemed to be the leader, commanded. Naruto's opponent disengaged from him and quickly moved towards the said targets.

Taeko's eyes widened when she saw the ninja's hitai-ite. "Kirigakure." She whispered, terrified. "They've found us."

"Naruto!" Jiraiya yelled, taking on several opponents single-handedly.

"Hai! **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" He yelled, forming a circle around the two girls that are on the deck, with his clones.

"As if I'm going to let you touch them!" The Naruto clones all yelled at the same time, peppering the advancing ninja with shurikens.

"Out of the way brat! **Suiton: Mizurappa**!" The Kiri ninja yelled, summoning a giant wave of water which took out Naruto's clones, flooded the deck and threw the sisters against the cabin wall.

"Shit!" Naruto spat, as he struggled to get up, soaked from the water attack.

Taeko swallowed thickly, struggling to breath, as the Kiri ninja held her against the wall by her neck, with a cold, merciless smirk on his face. "Looks like our intel was correct. You are the sole survivors of the Terumi clan." He whispered, looking her body up and down. "It sucks that I have to kill you. It's such a waste, but maybe we could have some fun before I do that." He whispered in her ear, before he licked her tear stained cheeks.

"Don't touch her!" Mei yelled, rushing the ninja and throwing punches, only to be kicked hard in the head, knocking her out.

"Shit! Mei-chan!" Jiraiya yelled, ducking under a vicious punch and countering. He quickly turned and ran towards the girls, only to be blocked by two more Kiri ninjas already forming seals with their hands. "Naruto! Take off the weights!" He yelled before dodging two water dragons who tried to swallow him.

"M-Mei." The older brunette choked out, her vision swimming in and out of consciousness.

The ninja smirked before ripping her robe off. "Those are nice." He praised her exposed chest, before swiftly jumping off the choking girl, dodging several kunais that struck the floor he was standing on.

Naruto landed in front of the exposed girl, before taking off his scarf and shirt and giving it to her to cover herself. "Don't worry Taeko-chan. I'll take care of him. I'll definitely make him pay." He said, taking off the weights around his wrist and ankles.

"Don't make me laugh boy. What can you do?" He taunted. "You don't even have a hitai-ite. You're a just a brat playing ninja!" He yelled before attacking, only to reel back as a hard jab stunned him. "What the-" He didn't have time to finish his train of thought as another kick which seemingly came out of nowhere connected with his gut, sending him flying off the ship.

The Kiri shinobi struggled to get up on the surface of the water, panting to catch his breath from the blindingly fast attack which pushed the air out of his lungs. He straightened up and growled at the boy with cold eyes, who landed on the water, calmly walking towards him, his shadow clones rushing towards him with kunais in each hand.

"Don't play with me! I'm a damn Kiri jounin! Don't think you can stop me from killing those bitches!" He yelled making seals with his hands. He dodged the thrown kunais before shouting, "**Suiton: Suiryuuben**!" A huge blob of water formed above him, with tentacles shooting out and impaling the clones, systematically taking them out.

Naruto's opponent continued to run around on top of the water with the help of chakra, his giant blob of water following him, dodging the blond boy's attacks.

_'Shit, he's good, but as long as he's underestimating me, I have a chance against him. Time to use what I've learned for the past year.'_ Naruto thought as a plan formed in his head.

The laboriously breathing Kiri ninja, cancelled the water jutsu after he took out the last clone. _'That jutsu sure takes a lot of chakra.'_ He thought. He looked at the blond, shirtless boy who was calculatingly watching him, and spat. _'Who is this fucking kid?' _He wondered, before quickly dropping into a defensive stance as he noticed the boy moving.

He watched the boy let a smoke bomb go off, and smirked. _'Amateur.'_ He thought as he watched the boy rush towards him from the smoke, impressively closing their distance. _'That's obviously a clone'_ he said, as he noticed the original in the air above him. _'He used this clone to distract me by attacking me head on while he performs a sneak attack from above. Might've worked against a genin, but not me!'_ He roared in his head, running towards the one who was rushing towards him.

_'His taijutsu is pretty impressive, but that's all he has.' _The ninja thought as he ducked under a roundhouse kick. He noticed that he was slightly struggling to block the combinations the clone was throwing at him, but he was confident the boy wasn't going to land a hit. He continued to dodge and block until he saw an opening and took out the clone.

He quickly looked up and cursed. "**Kage Shuriken no Jutsu**!" He heard the boy yell. Above him, a huge, black mass looked to be getting bigger as hundreds of multiplied ninja stars quickly descended down on him.

Hastily, he made a chain of seals and yelled. "**Suiton: Mizurappa**!" A huge wave formed over him both covering him from the hundreds of projectiles, and also dealing damage to his young opponent. He watched as the boy landed on top of the water with a splash. Suddenly, the said boy _'POOFED' _out of existence, surprising him.

"Shit-" His feet were suddenly grabbed from underwater, making him unable to move. He had time to look down, before he was lifted off the ground by an uppercut.

"U-"

"Zu-"

"Ma-"

"Ki-"

"Naruto Rendan!" Naruto yelled, plowing the surprised ninja face first into the water, creating a massive splash that sent waves slapping against the side of the ship.

Naruto slowly stood up and watched the body of the bleeding ninja, sink below him. He slowly made his way onto the ship, wincing as his weary muscles opposed him with every move. He clambered on board and his eyes widened as soon as he saw the big hole in the middle of the deck.

Before he could continue his observations on the state of the ship, he was tackled to the ground by a sobbing, Taeko, who was wearing his shirt, way too tight for her.

"Thank god you're alright!" She yelled through, happy tears.

Naruto tried to keep his young, curious eyes at her face and smiled. "I told you I'd make him pay." He said. "Ummm... Taeko-chan, it's kind of hard to breath with you on top of me." He explained, wincing as the well endowed, beautiful brunette got off of him. "How's Mei-chan?" He asked.

"She's fine. Jiraiya-sama is taking care of her right now." Pointing at the young brunette girl leaning against the cabin wall, with the white haired sannin running his glowing hands over her, while a small crowd of passengers gathered around them.

Naruto nodded and gingerly stood up with Taeko-chan's help, and made their way through the crowd.

"How is she?" The boy asked his master, as Taeko-chan knelt beside her sister.

"She's fine, just shocked into unconsciousness." He answered, before smiling at him. "I saw your fight. You've impressed me gaki."

"He was underestimating me." Naruto simply stated. "If I was stronger, Taeko-chan and Mei-chan wouldn't have gotten hurt."

Jiraiya didn't contradict him, but just nodded before picking up the unconscious little girl. "Let's get back to our room. You look like you're ready to drop."

Naruto simply nodded and tiredly made his way through the whispering passengers, who parted to let the group pass.

"Is the ship still functional?"

"Who were those ninjas?"

"It looked like Kiri shinobis."

"Why would they attack us?"

"Who knows?"

"Good thing they were here to protect us."

"Yeah, but this is bad. Crazy things have been happening in Kirigakure."

"It's because of that fucking Mizukage."

"Shhh... don't let anyone hear you say that. You just might get killed."

These were some of the things he heard them whispering about, but was too weary to care at the moment.

Jiraiya watched his apprentice pass out as soon as he touched his sleeping bag, before he deposited the sleeping girl in his arms, on her bed. He noticed that Taeko-chan changed into a plain white shirt and short shorts before putting on a bathrobe.

He waited for her to put a blanket over her sister before he cleared his throat, capturing her attention. "Taeko-chan. We need to talk." He said in a tone the brook no arguements.

She sighed, looking at her sister then at Naruto before nodding. "Yes, I know." She whispered, and inclined for him to continue.

"Why did those Kiri ninjas want to kill you?" He asked bluntly.

Taeko looked out at the dusk sky. She was silent for some time, thankful that the sannin didn't immediately press for answers. She finally looked back at the patiently waiting man and smiled sadly. "We are the sole survivors of the Terumi clan. A powerful shinobi clan that was kept secret by Kirigakure." She whispered. "We were feared because of our control over two Kekkai Genkais." She explained. "About five years ago, the Bloodline purges started in Kiri, ordered by the current Mizukage."

The sannin nodded. "Yes I've heard of that. It's what brought upon the current civil war."

"Yes. Well, as one of the most powerful Kekkai Genkai holders, our clan was targeted. Despite the army of shinobis who attacked us, they were beaten, thanks to our clan's powers." She said proudly. "However, we, the main family, didn't know that the branch families made a pact with the Mizukage, hoping that their lives will be spared. They betrayed us and we were overran by the Kiri forces." She said sadly. "The rest, I already told you after dinner at Shukabu village."

"What happened to the branch families?" Jiraiya asked, curious.

"Last I heard, the Mizukage had them all executed." She answered coldly.

The two were silent after her revelations, lost in their thoughts. They idly noticed the ship moving once again as they continued to work through some of the thoughts swirling in their minds. Finally, Jiraiya broke the silence.

"What is your real purpose for going back to Kiri?" He asked, looking her right in the eye, daring her to lie.

"I'm going to join the rebel group fighting against the Mizukage." She answered.

"And Mei?" He asked.

"She's free to join me, but if she refuses, I'm hoping you'd take her with you." She answered, her eyes showing fear.

Jiriaya continued to stare her in the eyes, before suddenly smiling. "Thank you for answering me honestly." He said. "If you lied I would've grabbed Naruto and left the two of you." He explained. He got up, walked up to the window, and looked out to the sea. Idly noticing that the sun was about to break through the horizon, he said. "We'll accompany you to Kiri." He then turned with a gentle smile on his face. "And if Mei wants to come with us, I'll take her with me."

Tears started to fall from Taeko's eyes as she hugged the surprised sannin. "Thank you, Jiraiya-dono, Densetsu no sannin of Konohagakure." She said, before giving him a kiss on the cheek, much to the surprise and delight of the Pervy Sage.

He pulled away from the hug, his cheeks a little colored and smiled. "No problem. Helping beautiful girls such as yourself, is what I was destined to do." He said, making her laugh.

"I should at least pay you now that you know that this isn't just a simple escort job." She insisted.

"No no, Naruto would never allow it." Jiraiya said, waving his hands in front of him.

"Why are YOU willing to do this for free? Please tell me honestly." Taeko asked softly.

He sighed. "I used to know this girl..." He looked away, smiling at the memories he remembered. "Anyways, you two remind me so much of her." He said facing her. "And I wanted to go to Kiri anyways." He added.

Taeko nodded, accepting his reason. "Thank you." She said softly.

He smiled, waving her gratitude dismissively. "You should go get some rest. I'll wake you up when we arrive at the port of Kiri."

Jiraiya watched as the beautiful, teary-eyed brunette nodded, before going over to her bed. She took off her robe, exposing her barely covered butt, before quickly going under the covers.

He mirthfully shook his head as he quickly took out his notebook from inside his vest and proceeded to write, a lecherous smile stuck on his face. After he was done, he replaced the notebook in the inside pocket of his red vest and turned to his sleeping apprentice.

He smiled before he went back to looking out to the sparkling sea. _'Minato, looks like I'm going to have to start teaching him some ninjutsu. He's definitely going to need it soon.'_ He said as he scratched his head before his smile got even wider _'And... I wonder what cup size Taeko-chan is?' _Jiraiya, Mount Miyoboku's Holy sennin and author of the popular Icha Icha series, thought as he tapped his notebook through his vest.

.

* * *

Jutsu list

**Chakra Kyuuin no jutsu **- Chakra Absorption Technique

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** - Shadow Clone Technique

**Suiton: Mizurappa** - Water Element: Violent Water Wave

**Suiton: Suiryuuben** - Water Element: Water Dragon Whip

**Kage Shuriken no Jutsu** - Shadow Shuriken Technique

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_A/N: PHEW! That was a challenging chapter... What did you guys think? Leave your thoughts in the review section. =)_


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

_A/N: As **Fettucini** and **bnmhj520** pointed out, I've got a lot of grammatical errors and problems with tenses. Honestly, I'm not sure how to fix that TERRIBLE habit of mine. Even if I try and go through the chapters and edit, its hard for me to 'see' them. I now realize my need for beta readers. If anyone is interested, please message me. I will REALLY appreciate it._

_Anyways, this is the next installment._

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**An Apprentice to a Sage**

Wind

...

Uzumaki Naruto, the young apprentice of Jiraiya no Sannin, growled in frustration. He was sitting in one of Kiri's foggy forests trying to do, what in his opinion, was the stupidest thing in the world - cut a leaf in half. This task was assigned to him after Jiraiya discovered earlier in the morning, through chakra paper, that his apprentice had an affinity to the element of wind.

And so, he's been trying to do the exercise since then with no success, frustrating the young apprentice to no end...

...

_'We need to protect them at least until they get to their destination or someone from Rebel Army takes them off our hands.'_ Jiraiya's words echoed in his head. He told him about the situation the sisters were in and the dangers it entails, a couple of days ago when they got to Kiri's port town, Nakazone.

He growled in frustration as the leaf in his hand stubbornly stayed in one piece. Add to the fact that there were six other copies of him loudly trying to do the same thing, only added to his annoyance.

"Will you all shut up?" He yelled at his clones as he roughly loosened the scarf around his neck, and scratched the spot under his wristbands which now had the symbol for ten. "It's kind of hard to concentrate when you're all grumbling about doing this stupid thing."

His rant was answered by six blank faces, before the clones huddled together.

"Have you ever noticed how much of a bitch our Boss is lately?"

"I think it's his time of the month."

"Yeah, like what Mei had last week."

"Ugh! So disgusting. I don't know why ero-sennin even likes to look at that part of a girl. It bleeds for no damn reason!"

"Yuck! Anyways, can you all believe boss is making us do the stupidest thing in the world? Cut a fucking leaf in half?"

"So stupid! We could be doing something cool like when ero-sensei cut the tree into pieces with a kunai, using his wind glowing trick."

The real Naruto cursed, dispelling the source of his annoyance. "Good for nothing Kage Bunshins." He spat.

He was about to start on his frustrating task again, but was interrupted by soft laughter. He looked around and saw a pretty girl, about the same age as Mei, approaching him. She was a wearing a simple pink robe, tied with a black belt and black shorts. She had long, black hair, brown, gentle eyes, a small smile and a basket of flowers in her hands.

_'I didn't even feel her presence or hear her.'_ Naruto thought. _'It's probably because those damn clones were so loud.'_

"You and your clones were very funny." She said softly.

This made Naruto blush. "Yeah... those guys are annoying." He said, scratching the back of his neck.

She went and sat down beside him, crossed-legged on the forest floor. "What were you doing?"

Naruto grabbed the leaf on the floor and showed it to the girl. "Apparently, I'm supposed to cut this leaf using my chakra."

"You're a wind affinity?" The girl asked surprising him. "You're a ninja?"

"Y-yeah and No I'm not." Naruto answered, only to see the girl frown in confusion. "I meant yes my affinity is wind nature, just found out this morning. However, No. I'm not a ninja." He clarified. "Are you a ninja?"

The girl's eyes closed as her body shook with soft laughter. "No I'm not either." She replied.

The two kids were silent for while, Naruto glaring at the leaf in his hand while the girl watched him.

"So... do you need help with it?" She asked. "Cutting the leaf with your chakra I meant." She explained, after seeing his confused face.

This surprised him. "You know how to do it?" He received a nod and the girl demonstrated, quickly and cleanly cutting the leaf in half.

"I've got two natures. One of them is wind, so I had to go through the same training as you did." She told him as she picked up a new leaf and handed it to him. "You've mastered the chakra training exercises right? Tree climbing? Water walking?" She asked and received an affirmative. "Then it's the same principles. You channel your chakra in your hands..." She paused, then smiled when the boy's hands started to glow blue. "... now just imagine splitting your chakra into two rapidly spinning vortexes, and grinding them with each other."

Naruto concentrated at the leaf between his palms, following the girl's instructions. Suddenly, he blinked in surprise and revealed a leaf with a small tear. He grinned after his first major progress all morning. "Yatta!" He yelled.

"Great job!" She praised. "To fully cut it in half, you need to make the separation between the two vortexes as thin as possible."

Naruto nodded and followed her instruction, only to have the same result as before - a small tear. He tried again, but this time, the leaf didn't even get cut. "What?"

"You're getting frustrated, so your concentration is lacking. You need to focus a lot when doing this exercise. In time, you're going to start doing it faster and faster. It took me a while to get this down, so don't be discouraged." She said encouragingly.

"No, I need to learn this quick." He replied. "I need to become strong to protect someone important."

The girl smiled softly. "You're already stronger because of that reason." She whispered.

Naruto was about to reply, but was cut off by a sharp whistle that came from a distance. The girl in front of him quickly stood up and dusted the back of her shorts.

"I'm sorry, I've got to go." She said.

"Wait - ummm... Thank you." He said. "I'm Naruto by the way."

The girl smiled gently. "It was a pleasure to meet you Naruto-kun." She said before she disappeared with a flicker.

_'She was so awesome! Damn! I didn't even get her name.'_ Naruto thought sadly, staring at the spot she vanished from. He then shrugged and made a seal with his hands. "**Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" he yelled as an army of clones appeared around him. "You all know what to do! Get to work!" He commanded as each clone grabbed a leaf and proceeded to follow the girl's instructions.

...

It was a tired but happy Naruto that walked in his and his master's shared bedroom. He plopped down on his bed and exhaled loudly.

"How was the exercise?" Jiraiya asked, noticing that it was only a little past noon. He was currently sitting in a desk by the window, studying a map of the land.

"I did it." Naruto yawned out surprising the white haired sannin. "Figured it out all by myself too!" He added, lying.

"Really?" Jiraiya asked, shocked. _'I thought it'd take him at least four days to get it. He didn't even ask me for tips.'_ He said in his head. _'I can't believe he figured it out by himself._' The sannin skeptically eyed his apprentice before pulling him off the bed. "Show me." He commanded, handing him a leaf which seemed to have come out of nowhere.

Naruto placed the leaf in between his two palms, yawning tiredly before his brows furrowed. He then suddenly straightened up with a grin. "Here." He said, simply giving his master two halves of a leaf, before going under the covers.

Jiraiya stared at the split leaf in his hands, his mouth open. _'Shit! He actually did it.'_ He said shocked. _'Didn't even take two whole days. I guess he's not as much of an idiot as I first thought if he can figure the leaf cutting exercise by himself.' _The sannin said. _'Minato, your son is pretty impressive.'_ he added and smiled when he saw Naruto grin like a cat in his sleep.

Jiraiya went back to studying the map_. 'Hmmm... I'll show him the second stage of chakra recomposition training tomorrow.' _He thought, before he remembered the Terumi sisters' dilemma. _'Actually, I should let him start today.'_ He emended.

The sannin grabbed their gear and gently picked up his now snoring apprentice before smiling. _'I'll let him sleep until we get to Nakazone falls. It's just outside the town.'_ He said as he silently scribbled a note for Taeko, who was at the post office with Mei, before he left their room. _'Hopefully, no one is there. It's still too cold for swimming this time of the year anyways.'_ He thought.

...

Naruto slowly woke up to the sound rushing water.

"Ugh..." He groaned, wiping his face which he realized was wet. He sat up and slowly took in his surroundings. "What the fuck!"

"You're finally awake Gaki." A voice behind him said.

"Ero-sensei! What the fuck happened?" The blond boy asked, looking around wildly. "How the fuck did I end up here?"

"I wanted to teach you the next step for learning to control wind chakra, but I saw that you were tired so I let you rest for a bit. Now that you're awake... welcome to the famous Nakazone falls." He said, waving his arms at the massive falls in front of them.

Naruto squinted his eyes as he looked up at the magnificent falls. The entire area was covered in mist, making it hard to see.

"What are we doing here?" He asked, noticing that his body was slowly getting wet because of the mist.

"The second stage of your wind manipulation training is to cut that waterfall." Jiraiya replied grinning.

"What? Cut the waterfall in half?" He asked incredulously.

"Yeah." Jiraiya said as he yelled. "**Doton: Doryuu Burijji**!" Slamming both of his hands at the edge of the river bank. Suddenly, the ground started to grow extending over the water, before connecting with the bank on the other side, making an earthen bridge.

"Gaki, follow me." He ordered, walking on the bridge until he was at the center of the falls. There, the sannin placed his left hand on the water. "This is what I want you to do." He pushed his hands into the water while Naruto watched in awe as the massive waterfall was instantly split horizontally, in half.

"Wow." He breathed out. "Master, how'd you do that?"

_'Master?'_ Jiraiya thought with a smirk._ 'That's the first time he's called me master since I showed him how to walk on water.' _He wiped his wet hands on his pants before answering. "You just do what I did, put your hands against the water and cut it with all the wind chakra you can produce. However, to be successful, a tremendous amount of elemental recomposition is needed to be released in an instant." The white-haired sannin explained.

"If I do this, you'll teach me how to do that kunai thing?" Naruto asked, before he received a nod. "Then stand back and be ready to teach me that jutsu."

Jiraiya laughed and moved out of the way. "Go ahead. Try it Gaki."

The whiskered boy nodded. "Watch this ero-sensei." He said with a confident smirk before placing his left hand on the rushing water and yelling, "Ha!" A tiny splash formed around his hand, before the water continued to flow normally again. His brows furrowed, before he did it again, only to receive the same results.

"Damn it!" The blond boy yelled in frustration.

"It's harder than it looks, isn't it?" The sannin asked, smirking, making his student growl.

"Shut up you perverted old man!" The boy spat.

"Alright, this is what I want you to do. Fill this bridge up with your clones. Half of them will be using their left hand while the other uses their right to cut the waterfall. This will force you to learn how to do massive elemental recomposition with each hand, independently." Jiraiya instructed as he hopped to the riverbank.

"**Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" The blond boy yelled, as a hundred Naruto's lined up across the bridge. "Yosh! Let's do this!" The original Naruto yelled, making the clones cheer as they did exactly as the sannin instructed.

...

"Naruto!" Jiraiya yelled for his apprentice. It's been an hour since the blond boy started trying to cut the waterfall.

The original Naruto pulled his hand back from the water and hopped off the bridge to the river bank. "Yes?" He asked, wiping some water off his face.

"I'll be back. I'm just going to follow on a lead." The toad sannin explained, his notebook already in his hand. "Just continue your training and you better not slack off or there will be no ramen for a month for you." He threatened him before he disappeared with swirl of leaves.

Naruto just shrugged and went back to his spot on the bridge. "Let's cut this shit!"

...

It was well into the night, when a tipsy Jiraiya got back. He smiled and laid down as he noticed that the hundred or so Naruto's were choosing to ignore him and continue with their training under the bright moonlight.

_'He's really determined with this.'_ He thought, before shaking his head and succumbing to the blissful unconsciousness the high amount of alcohol in his body was pushing him towards.

Jiraiya's eyes snapped open then snapped close as an explosion shook the ground before he was soaked by the sudden downpour from the sky. "Fuck!" He yelled. His ears were ringing, his head was pounding and his throat felt like he swallowed all the sand in Suna. "I'm going to kill someone." He spat hoarsely as he slowly opened his eyes again, cursing the sun as if it ate his first born child. "Fucking crazy weather. Raining and sunny at the same time." He said as he rubbed his watering eyes.

Slowly but surely, his surroundings stopped spinning. He straightened up and his eyes bulged out as he noticed the state of their training ground. "What the heck?"

"Did that wake you up, ero-sensei?" Naruto asked as he landed beside his guffawed master and wiped his drenched face with the sleeve of his equally drenched shirt.

Jiraiya's head snapped to his apprentice. "What happened?"

The said boy scratched the back of his head and smiled guiltily. "I think I overdid it?" He responded before pulling his orange scarf off and wringing it.

"Overdid it?" The sannin asked, outraged. "You destroyed the falls!" He yelled while pointing at the pile of rubble, water gushing out of every nook and cranny, which used to be the renowned Nakazone falls. "How are we going to explain this?" He asked as his face paled. "Grab your shit! We're getting out of here quick!" He commanded before the pair haphazardly threw their gear and equipment in their packs and ran away from the scene.

The panting duo finally stopped when they couldn't hear the shouts of outrage coming from people, anymore. They looked back then at each other, before their faces cracked into twin full blown smiles.

"You did that with your wind chakra?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yup. I was actually able to cut the water several times already, before I tried to do it with as much chakra as I can." Naruto explained.

Jiraiya sat cross-legged on the grassy forest floor before rubbing his chin in thought. "Hmmm.. As much chakra... I still wonder how big your chakra reserves are, and how big they will get once your chakra system have matured?" He asked.

Naruto shook his head in confusion. _'Why does he always try to figure this out?'_ He asked himself before he cleared his throat, garnering the attention of his contemplating master. "Remember our deal? Teach me the kunai thingy now!" He demanded.

This made him smirk. "It's really easy actually. You just imagine in your mind that whatever you want to imbue wind chakra on, is a part of your body and your chakra will do the rest." He explained. "The hardest part is putting in enough chakra to the object for it to be actually self sustaining, so that you don't have to keep feeding it." He said, grinning. "But I guess you won't have that problem, eh gaki?"

Naruto laughed. "I guess not." He replied, looking back at the direction where they came from.

Jiraiya produced a kunai from his pouch. "You go through what you learned from the leaf cutting and the... uhhh... destroying - I mean cutting the falls exercises, and you just focus on the item in your hand. I imagine the kunai to be connected to my hands as I allow chakra to flow through it. Once there's enough chakra on it, I cut the flow." He tossed the wind chakra imbued knife in the air and caught it. Naruto watched in fascination as the kunai seemed to have been enveloped in a white cloak of swirling energy. He slowly reached for it and winced as a line formed at the tip of his finger and blood started to ooze out, his hand centimeters from the actual blade of the knife.

"The wind chakra increases the reach and the sharpness of the blade. It is said that wind chakra can cut through anything." Jiraiya said at his apprentice who was now eyeing the blade with maniacal gleam.

"Anything..." He whispered, quickly grabbing a kunai from his pouch. He proceeded to go through the steps described by Jiraiya and smiled as the blade was coated in the familiar white cloak. However, what happened next caught both master and apprentice by surprise.

The kunai seemed to glow before it shattered, somehow producing a tornado that swallowed them and flung them high into the sky.

"Hmmm... that was interesting." The seven year old blond said to himself as he rubbed his chin."I went through all the steps the ero-sensei said, but I got an adverse reaction."

The boy made a seal with one hand. "Oh well...** Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" Several clones suddenly grabbed him and formed a protective ball around him - a giant yellow, orange, white and black ball. The giant mass of wriggling Naruto's fell to the forest floor with a loud 'THUD' then a 'POOF'.

"Gaki! You alright?" The Toad Sannin who landed on a tree branch asked.

"Yeah." Groaned the young Jinchuuriki.

"Good. Let's get back to town. That's enough excitement until we've had breakfast." Jiraiya said as he pulled his apprentice up.

...

Mei, currently sitting at the porch of their rented townhouse in the port town of Kiri, was totally and utterly bored out of her wits. It'd been two days since she last saw the perverted boy and his even more perverted master.

If she was more honest with herself, she'd actually admit that she was a little fond of the boy. He was loud, obnoxious and perverted, but could somehow, always bring a smile to her face.

_'He'll be cute when he grows up.'_ She absentmindedly smiled at the thought before-

"Mei-chan!" He waved. "I can see your panties!"

'SMACK' 'POOF'

"Honestly, What the hell kind of greeting is that?" She asked, her face red and fuming while she shook her tingling hand.

"Owww." Naruto groaned as he gently rubbed his cheek. "Poor clone..."

"Where the hell have you two been?" Mei demanded, annoyed that she didn't get to slap the actual boy. "It's been two days!"

"I swear I left a letter before we left." Jiraiya answered. "I said I was going to train the gaki."

"Where's Taeko-chan?" The blond boy asked. "I miss her."

"She's inside-"

"Yosh!" Naruto yelled running past her.

"-making breakfast." She finished, her eyes blinking rapidly.

Jiraiya laughed and slapped the young girl's shoulder. "Come on, let's hurry or Naruto's going to end up eating all the food."

Mei rubbed her shoulder as she glared at the back of the sannin who already walked past her. "No he won't. It's not ramen." She grumbled.

Taeko was happy to see them back. She gave both boys a big hug, much to their delight before she served them breakfast. Throughout the whole meal, Naruto told the sisters what kind of training he did.

"I was supposed to cut the waterfalls with my wind chakra."

"But he ended up turning the whole thing into rubble."

"You destroyed a waterfall? You?" Mei asked disbelievingly. "You can't even manage to eat without spilling some on yourself."

"Yes I can!" Naruto answered indignantly.

The two bickered with each other while the adults watched in amusement. Jiraiya shook his head with a smile, before he grabbed Taeko's hand across the table.

"I'm going to be leaving again later today. I have some business to take care of." He said softly.

"So soon? You two just got back." The brunette replied.

"It'll be just me. I'm going to leave Naruto here. It's too dangerous for him to come." Jiraiya replied. "I'll be gone for about a week or so."

Taeko turned towards the two children currently play fighting, then back to the sannin. "Okay. Be careful Jiraiya-sama. I'll watch over them." She declared and received a gentle smile and a nod.

"Don't worry. You've got Naruto here."

...

"Now gaki, I want you to continue your training and you better not slack off." Jiraiya said sternly. "But don't overdo it."

Naruto laughed at that. "Don't worry ero-sensei."

Jiraiya knelt and gave the boy a fatherly hug. "You need to keep a low profile. If only this thing wasn't so urgent I wouldn't leave you guys..." He whispered, his voice holding an uncertain tone.

Naruto's face hardened as he turned towards the two girls who were watching them from a distance. "I'll protect them. I swear."

"I'm not sure when those Kiri ninja will attack, but I don't think it will be soon. However, don't let your guard down. Also, I've paid a good amount of money to keep their identities a secret, so that'll help." The sannin said as he got up. "Anyways, if you get into any trouble... Kuchiyose no Jutsu." He said as he bit his thumb and summoned a small toad. "I'm going to leave him with you. This right here is Gamakichi."

"Yo." The small toad greeted.

Naruto's jaw dropped. "What the hell is that? How is this little bitch going to help us?"

"Hey! Who you calling a little bitch, little bitch?"

"You."

"Why you- "

The young boy and the small toad wrestled with each other, before they were suddenly pulled apart by an annoyed Jiraiya. "Enough." He snapped. "Naruto, Gamakichi here, is the son of the leader of the toads, Gamabunta." The small toad puffed his chest. "He'll let me know if you guys are in trouble."

Naruto looked at the small toad and stuck his tongue out. "Whatever."

Jiraiya smiled at his apprentice and placed a hand on his shoulder. "And... I think you're ready to learn Fuuinjutsu." He said, making the boy's eyes widen. "When I get back, I'll start teaching you that."

"Yatta!" Naruto yelled, pumping his fist in the air.

Jiraiya let Gamakichi go and strapped his gear with the giant scroll on his back. "Don't give Taeko-chan too much of a hard time and don't cause too much trouble. I'll see you guys in about a week." He said over his shoulder, waving as he walked away.

.

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Jutsu List

**Doton: Doryuu Burijji - **Earth Element: Earthen Bridge

**Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** - Mass Shadow Clone technique

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** - Shadow Clone technique

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_A/N: What'd you think? R&R please_


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

_A/N: I'm sorry for the very slow updates. Just had a very busy year... still do. But meh, it's here._

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**An Apprentice to a Sage**

Mist

...

Naruto wiped his brow as he read the scroll Jiraiya left him, over once again.

"**Kawarimi no Jutsu** - The technique which switches your body with another object." He read out loud. He was at the spot which he deemed as his training spot. It's a clearing in the middle of the forest near the Nakazone village. _'Calling it a clearing is actually pretty ironic. The fog in this area is so thick, you could barely see two feet ahead of you.'_ The blond boy thought.

A small orange toad suddenly landed right on top of his head. "Gather your chakra and focus on the object you wish to switch with..." It said, reading the rest of the scroll out loud. "This jutsu seems simple enough. It can't be harder than the Henge no Jutsu you just learned. So, can't you hurry it up so we can play with Mei-chan again?"

"I can't. I need to finish learning this second jutsu, or else ero-sennin won't teach me new ones." Naruto replied as he made several clones and instructed them to practice.

_Jiraiya and Naruto walked out of the house together._

_"Naruto, I'm leaving these two jutsus with you." He said as he handed his apprentice two scrolls. "It explains the basics of Henge no Jutsu and Kawarimi no Jutsu. These two basic jutsus will be able to help you escape whatever kind of trouble that somehow you always get into."_

_"I don't always get into trouble." Naruto argued._

_Jiraiya laughed and patted the boy's blond head. "My life hadn't been close to being as hectic as it is now, until I picked you up." He said. "Now, I want you to learn these as quick as possible. I'll only teach you new jutsus after you've mastered these."_

"...But this is so boring." The small toad complained. "You've been training for hours!"

"Gamakichi! Will you stop whining? I can't focus with you complaining like a little bitch." Naruto snapped and went back into memorizing the seals needed for the body replacement technique.

The little toad growled and proceeded to attack the surprised boy. "Little bitch huh?" He asked with a smirk as the toad kicked the whiskered boy in the chest, sending him crashing to a tree.

The Naruto bunshins quickly stopped their task of learning the Kawarimi jutsu, and watched with great interest the fight between the toad and their boss.

"You hit pretty hard for someone who's got warts on their ass." Naruto said, dusting his chest. _'Damn! That hurt'_ he thought.

"You're about to get a beatdown whiskers." Gamakichi replied smirking.

"That's it!" Naruto yelled as he suddenly charged the toad. The said toad used his smaller stature to his advantage and dodged the boy's onslaught.

"**Gama Senpou: hayaoki ankou**!" Gamakichi yelled before the toad vanished. Suddenly, he appeared inside of Naruto's guard, catching him by surprise and delivered a devastating combination. However, when the dust settled, the small toad was surprised to see a broken log instead of the blond boy. Gamakichi quickly tried to turn around, but it was too late...

"Sennen Goroshi!" Naruto yelled as he stabbed his index fingers in the toad's bottom, sending the said amphibian flying into a tree before poofing out of existence.

The young Jinchuuriki collapsed on the floor, laughing. "I remember when ero-sennin got me with that move." He gasped out. As his laughter died, he stood up and dusted himself. "Now where did that annoying toad go?"

After a minute of waiting a tick mark appeared on the blonde boy's head. "Gamakichi! You can come out now!" He yelled.

"Hey I think the boss killed gamakichi-kun."

"Ero-sennin's going to kill him."

The annoyed jinchuriki quickly rounded to the muttering clones. "Shut up! He'll come out when he gets bored of hiding." He yelled. "Now get back to work!" He commanded his clones who went back to their tasks, grumbling.

...

It was already late in the afternoon when a tired and annoyed Naruto walked onto the porch of their rented house.

"Hey pervert!" Mei called out, only to receive no response. She watched in confusion as the boy walked in the house muttering, not even acknowledging her. 'What's wrong with him?'

She quickly followed the boy in and heard him muttering something about 'Kawarimi... Ero-sennin... toads.' She grabbed him by shoulders and turned him around just as they reached the living room.

"Hey pervert, what's wrong with you?" She asked.

"Oh! Hello Mei." He greeted, surprising the girl with his polite greeting before he turned around and started muttering again.

A tick mark appeared on the young Terumi's head as she watched the boy slowly climbing the stairs still muttering about toads. "Naruto! What the hell is wrong with you?" She demanded.

"Nothing." He answered, as he stacked his dirty sandals on the shoe rack.

'He's organizing his stuff? Okay, something's definitely wrong.' She thought incredulously and quickly crossed the gap between them. She was about to shake him when the front door burst open. Both kids quickly turned around, before Naruto jumped in front of Mei, holding a kunai in his hand.

"Hey guys! Look at this-"

"What's the password?" Naruto demanded, his hands already formed in a seal as he glared at the still hooded person who just ran into the house.

The person tried to remove the hood."Naruto-kun-"

"Don't move! What's the password?" He demanded again as three bunshins appeared and surrounded the young brunette behind him.

The air in the living room thickened very quickly as the occupants stared each other down.

Finally, the person sighed. "Do I really have to?" Receiving glares from both kids. "Naruto is the most amazing person in the world and he'll be the greatest hokage someday."

"And?" Naruto asked.

"And that Gamakichi is the best looking toad in the whole world." The person continued.

Naruto smiled and put his kunai away and the bunshins all poofed out of existence. "Hello Taeko-chan!" He greeted the person who took her hood off, revealing the beautiful face of Taeko Terumi.

"What the hell Sis? Don't scare me like that!" Mei yelled. "Why didn't you just say the password in the first place?"

Taeko crinkled her nose cutely and responded with a question. "Would you be able to say those things out loud if you were in my shoes? I don't mind saying that stuff about Naruto-kun, but the toad..." She said shivering slightly.

Mei responded with a nod. "Actually, I think I'd rather be killed than say the password out loud." She agreed.

Naruto grabbed his chest and feigned being hurt. "Mei-chan you wound me."

"Shut up." She said, glaring at the boy. "Speaking of which, where's that perverted little toad of yours?" She asked.

_"Mei are you coming in the bath?"_

_"Would we fit?"_

_"I think so. The tub's pretty big."_

_The two Terumi's quickly shed off their clothes and went in the tub, only for both of them jump back out._

_"What the heck?" Taeko yelled, quickly covering herself with her hands as a small orange toad floated to the surface of the water._

_"Yo." The toad greeted, with blood dripping from its nose._

_"Gama-" Mei whispered, a tick mark forming on her temple as her face started getting redder and redder. "Gamakichi!" She finally yelled before punching the toad, somehow destroying the tub and the bathroom floor, flooding the kitchen which was right below the bathroom. _

"... disappeared. I don't know where he is." She heard Naruto reply.

"What? I thought he was supposed to be here to watch over us?" Taeko asked.

"Well..." Naruto said uncomfortably, scratching his neck. "I don't know where he is, but what are you holding?" He asked, quickly changing the subject and pointed at the poster in Taeko's hand.

"Oh this? Apparently, the townsfolk are having an impromptu festival." Taeko replied, holding the poster up.

"Impromptu festival?" Mei asked.

Taeko nodded her head and smirked at Naruto. "Apparently, they're doing it to appease the offended spirit of the great Kenji Nakazone. The one who protects these lands." She explained.

Naruto looked at her skeptically. "Offended?"

"Yes, they think the spirit was offended somehow that's why the Nakazone falls collapsed and tornadoes have been popping up at the outskirts of town." She said laughing, while a sweatdrop fell on the two kids' heads. "So basically, this festival is for you, Naruto."

"Tornadoes... damn! Those things are by accidents. I still can't control how much chakra I'm channeling into the weapon I want to imbue wind chakra on. It's just that I really don't know how to put any less. I try to put as little chakra as I can and the thing shatters and produces a tornado..." Naruto grumbled. "They make a festival to honor my failure..."

"It's because you're a dobe." Mei added.

Taeko saw another fight about to happen between the two kids and quickly stepped in between. "So, are we going to go to this? It seems like it'll be fun."

Naruto shook his head. "But we can't. Ero-sennin said that we should keep a low profile. Remember?"

"But Naruto-kun, we've been stuck in this house all week. It's starting to make me go crazy." Mei whined.

_'Tch. She only calls me Naruto-kun when she wants something.'_ He thought. "No."

Taeko suddenly smirked. "But, how are we going to have dinner tonight? The kitchen is still flooded." She said pointing at the door that lead to the said kitchen. "I heard they have the best Ramen place in all of Kiri here." She added and smiled inwardly as she started to see the boy crumbling in. "Besides, this might be the last time we get to do something fun together. When Jiraiya-sama gets back tomorrow, who knows what will happen."

Mei saw her sister's sadden, while Naruto looked at the ground and nod. "What are you guys talking about?" Mei asked in confusion.

"Besides, we'll be wearing make-up so people won't recognize us." Taeko added, ignoring her sister's question.

Naruto sighed, then nodded. "Alright fine, we can go."

"Yes! Let's go get ready Mei-chan!" Taeko whooped, practically dragging her sister upstairs.

...

"Are you guys done yet?" Naruto asked loudly from the living room, for the umpteenth time.

"Almost!" Taeko yelled from upstairs. "Stop asking!"

_'Stupid girls. They always take forever.'_ Naruto grumbled as he sunk in the couch further. _'I've been waiting for like half an hour already. Honestly, how long does it take to put make up on?'_

He sat muttering in the living room for another couple of minutes until he heard them descending down the stairs. He quickly got up, about to go on a tirade.

"Finally! I've been-" His rant died in his lips as he took in their appearance.

Taeko was wearing a pink kimono with a with a cherry tree design and white cherry blossom petals falling diagonally across the dress, a white belt wrapped around her waist completed her outfit. Mei on the other hand, was in light blue kimono with a river design drawn in traditional style. She wore a belt which was a darker shade than her dress. They both had some light makeup and their hair up, which made them look both different, but still familiar.

Taeko smiled at the boy who was doing a great impression of a fish. "Are you okay Naruto-kun?"

"Beautiful..." He whispered, before he shook himself. "I meant, let's go." He said, his cheeks coloring.

"Alright."

...

The festival was being held at the middle of the town. Decorative lamps lit the streets, while everyone was dressed in traditional outfits, and music and laughter filled the air. Everyone seemed to be having fun except for a young blond boy.

"Naruto, will you stop being so tense? You're making me feel uncomfortable." Taeko whispered.

"But Taeko-chan, everyone's looking at us." Naruto whispered back.

"It's because you look so suspicious idiot." Mei snapped.

Taeko knelt in front of the boy and looked him in the eye. "Naruto-kun, just enjoy yourself. I promise nothing bad will happen tonight." She said softly.

Naruto looked around, before sighing. "I guess so." He answered before smiling.

The trio went and visited all the booths and played several games, much to the delight of the sisters because Naruto was incredible at them.

"Here you go Mei-chan." Naruto said as he won a life-sized bear plushie and gave it to the young lady beside him.

"T-Thanks Naruto-kun." She said blushing.

"Let's go see the great sakura tree where Kenji Nakazone was buried under." Taeko recommended smiling.

"Sure." The boy answered.

The trio arrived at the middle of the town where a giant cherry tree was planted. It was currently spring in Kiri, therefore the tree was covered in cherry blossoms, making the whole thing look like a big cotton ball.

"Wow." Naruto breathed out. "It must be really old." He said as he watched the sakura petals fall like snow from the enormous tree.

The three walked around the enormous tree, enjoying the sights and sounds of the town center. The festive atmosphere was very contagious and their worries quickly vanished from their minds and they soon found themselves laughing and talking animatedly with each other.

Naruto saw Mei shiver and he quickly took off his scarf and wrapped it around her making the older girl blush and Taeko smile.

"It's still pretty cold this time of the year." She said as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go get some ramen. I'll pay."

"Yatta! Let's go guys! I think I saw the place you were talking about earlier Taeko-chan! It's this way." Naruto said excitedly, pulling the two laughing girls towards the ramen shop they passed along the way.

The shop was packed with people, but not packed enough that they couldn't get a table and their orders taken. Everyone eyed them as they walked through the restaurant, to their seats.

"So much for keeping a low profile." Naruto grumbled, grabbing his teacup.

"What do you mean?" Taeko-chan asked as she sipped some tea.

"Every guy and even some girls in town have been staring at you all night." He said, finishing his tea in one gulp. "What are you staring at?" Naruto snapped at the two guys openly leering at Taeko from the table beside theirs.

"Naruto-kun, just calm down. You shouldn't let these things get to you." She said and smiled when she saw the waiter approaching their table with bowls of ramen. "Forget about them. Here comes our food." She said softly and smiled as he nodded.

The trio grabbed their chopsticks at the same time before yelling, "Itadakimasu!"

"This is delicious!" Naruto yelled, after swallowing a mouthful of noodles.

"Yes it is." Mei agreed.

"See! Let's not worry about anything and just enjoy ourselves tonight." Taeko said with a big smile. "Nothing will happen tonight. Besides, even if they stare, I know you wouldn't let anyone touch us."

...

"Ugh." Naruto groaned, groggily sitting up. "What happened?" He asked as he gently massaged his aching neck.

Silence.

His eyes snapped open and widened as he saw the deserted and destroyed state of the restaurant. "Shit!" He spat as he quickly made a seal with his hand. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

"Naruto!" A scream that sounded like Mei's voice, came from outside.

Naruto quickly exited the restaurant followed by his clones, to see the town in panic. Everyone was running around, trying to get back to their homes. A thick fog had descended on the town, decreasing visibility and muffling people's screams.

"Split up and find them!" He ordered his clones who quickly scattered into different directions. "Fuck! I should've never let my guard down." He told himself before taking off.

Naruto was running when he received several memories of his clones at the North exit of the town dispersing themselves when they found clues. He quickly moved towards the spot in his memory and picked up an orange scarf from the floor.

"Mei-chan. Taeko-chan." He growled and rushed out of the town's north gate, his clones in tow.

He picked up a trail which lead to the vast forest bordering the town of Nakazone. "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He yelled as he landed on branch. "Look for them!" He ordered.

"Hai!" The blond army yelled then scattered in all directions, scouring the forest.

Naruto was moving through the forest, in reckless speeds, his legs enhanced by chakra. _'I'm not going to let anything happen to them. I promised Ero-sennin.'_ He told himeslf, when he suddenly stopped as he heard a girlish scream deep in the forest, followed by several memories of his clones.

Naruto quickly took off towards the sound, and saw his clones already converging on the location. "Fucking mist. I can't see shit."

He made a signal with his hands and all his clones stopped moving. Another signal and they hid their presence, while they silently crept towards a densely foggy area where muffled noises and grunts can be heard.

His face hardened, and his jaw flexed, when he saw what was happening. Mei was bound up and bruised while she struggled on the ground, her muffled screams escaping from her covered mouth. However, it was Taeko who froze his blood. She was naked on the forest floor, her hands bound while a pantless Kiri ninja was on top of her, and two more were proceeding to take off their own trousers.

"Please... stop it." Taeko whispered hoarsely through her bleeding lips.

"Oh you're still conscious?" The ninja on top of her asked as he stood up, a sinister smirk on his face. "I will-"

His eyes widened and his body flinched. Whatever he was going to say died in his throat as blood started to dribble from his mouth. The body of the ninja, slowly fell to the side, revealing a kunai stuck to his back and three, small blond boys clad in white shirts and black shorts.

"Shit!" The two ninjas cursed as they hastily zipped up their pants. The pair quickly jumped away before several shurikens, which seemingly came from nowhere, embedded themselves on the ground and the tree they were standing around on.

"Naruto..." Taeko whispered, tears spilling from her eyes.

"You guys are going to pay for what you did." He growled out, his eyes sharp and cold as ice, flanked by two clones.

Recognition seemed to hit one of the Kiri ninjas. "It's you again!"

Naruto eyed the ninja and recognized him as well. "You're the jounin whom I beat up on the boat." He simply stated.

"Jirou, you got beat by that brat?" The other ninja asked.

"He just caught me off guard!" Jirou yelled. "Just like he did with him." He said, pointing at their dead team member.

Naruto slowly pulled off his kunai off the dead shinobi's back, dripping blood on the grass, while the two Kiri ninjas pulled out their own.

_'No matter how much I want to kill these fuckers, Taeko-chan and Mei-chan are my first priority.'_ He reminded himself as he went into a stance.

They stared each other down, as they each waited for each other to move. Suddenly, movement happened all at once. The two clones engaged the ninjas, while Naruto grabbed Taeko and Mei, swiftly fleeing from the foggy clearing. He carried Mei and Taeko's naked, battered bodies, as fast and as far away as he could from the Kiri ninjas.

Pausing to catch his breath, he cut the binds off the girls. "I'm so sorry Taeko-chan." He whispered, caressing her bruised face. He then turned towards a crying Mei and repeated his apology. "I never should've let my guard down."

Naruto quickly took off his shirt and gently put it on Taeko. "We need to keep moving. My clones won't be able to hold off those Kiri shinobis for long." He said as he received a steady flow of memories from his quickly dispelled kage bunshins, holding off the ninjas chasing them.

He suddenly grabbed both the girls and jumped away, narrowly missing a water dragon that went crashing to the ground, taking out some trees before and flicking mud everywhere before dispersing.

Naruto quickly dropped into a defensive stance, while a number of clones surrounded the sisters.

"Jirou, who is this brat? How can he keep making so many bunshins?" The slightly haggard ninja asked.

"I'm not sure Kyo. He's not even a ninja." The ninja who Naruto fought in the sea answered. "He was with Konoha's Jiraiya no Sannin though." He added, surprising the other shinobi.

"_The_ Jiraya no Sannin?" He asked.

Naruto tuned their conversation out, as he tried to come up with plans in his head. _'What the fuck can I do here? They're pretty strong, probably jounin team. I'm at a complete disadvantage here. Two on one, they're not underestimating me and I've got to watch out for Taeko-chan and Mei-chan. Shit! Everything is stacked against me.'_ He thought, running through some of the memories his clones gave him, analyzing his opponents strength, weaknesses, attack patterns and fatigue.

"As Ero-sennin would say, Information equals survival." He whispered to himself. He snapped out of his reminiscing as he heard Mei's voice, yelling for him to watch out.

He quickly ducked under and then jumped out of the way of several piercing water bullets which came from the one named Kyo. _'I need to get them out of here.'_

He quickly sent four clones to fight the two as he tried to grab the girls and flee only to be hindered by the one named Jirou. "**Suiton: Mizurappa**!"

"Shit!" He cursed. He wasn't going to leave the girls behind so he had no choice but to brace himself for the giant wave's violent impact. The wave washed them over to some trees, knocking the girls out while Naruto felt a burning sensation on his shoulder.

He shakily stood up clutching his dislocated shoulder. _'Fuck! That hurts.'_ He thought. _'I'm not sure how I'm going to beat these two.'_ He said while his shoulder already started to heal, turning the pain into a dull throbbing.

"Brat, this won't be the same outcome as before." The Jirou guy spat. "I'm going to kill you."

Naruto quickly took off his ten-pound wristbands and dropped them on the ground, producing twin dull 'thuds'. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" He yelled and a clone appeared behind him.

"Looks like you're in trouble boss." The clone said laughing.

"Shut up and take care of that Kyo guy." He said, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder.

"Sure thing boss." The clone said smirking, before flickering away.

Naruto quickly jumped away from a water bullet, took out two kunais and attacked his opponent.

Jirou had a much harder time dodging the boy's attacks than before. _'He's a lot faster, now that he took off his wristbands.'_ He thought, wincing as a small cut appeared on his cheek. _'But that's all this brat has.'_

Catching Naruto's overextended arm he quickly grabbed it and broke it, but instead of pain, he saw the boy smirk before 'Poofing' away.

"Shit" Jirou cursed, before a kunai stabbed his neck.

Naruto's eyes widened as the practically decapitated ninja suddenly melted into water. Suddenly, spear of water erupted underground, skewering the blond boy, much to the kiri ninja's satisfaction.

However, Jirou was surprised as a pair of hands grabbed him from underground. He had time to see the skewered boy turn into a split log before he was hit with an uppercut.

"**U-**"

"**Zu-**"

"**Ma-**"

"**Ki-**"

"**Naruto rendan**!" Naruto yelled as he kneed his opponent to the ground face first, producing a big crater.

He quickly hopped out the crater just in time to see his bunshin get dispelled and the kiri ninja 'Kyo' advance on the prone forms of the Terumi sisters.

He quickly threw some shurikens and was about to move, but he was suddenly surrounded by water, trapping him. "**Suirou no Jutsu**!" He heard the man he just plowed to ground, yell.

_'Shit! What is this? I'm drowning!'_ He thought in alarm as he struggled to free himself.

Kyo hopped away from the shurikens and smiled when he saw the boy trapped in the Water Prison technique. He slowly walked towards him while he took out a kunai and an explosive note from his pouch. He then proceeded to wrap the said note around the handle of the knife and smiled evilly.

"Hey brat, let's watch what happens when I throw this to your precious bitches." He said and laughed as the boy started to trash inside the water prison.

Naruto watched in horror as the man threw the knife towards the unconscious sisters. "Taeko-chan! Mei-chan!" he gurgled in his liquid prison. His heart stopped as the explosive note detonated right above them, destroying the tree they were lying against. _'No, no, no, no... Please god no.'_ he kept repeating in his head, tears coming out of his eyes, mixing in with the water he was trapped in.

"Did you see that brat? Now you're next." The cackling ninja turned towards him and slowly advanced, but was stopped when his teammate's eyes widened and whispered, "What the fuck?"

Kyo quickly turned around and copied Jirou's reaction. There, where the two girls were supposed to be, was a dome of ice glinting as the rays of the sun, which suddenly broke through horizon, reflected through the crystallized structure.

Suddenly, a rain of senbons forced the ninjas to dodge away, releasing the Water Prison technique. This left Naruto spewing water out and gasping for breath.

"Are you okay Naruto-kun?" A girlish voice asked.

He looked up at the source of the voice and his eyes widened. "You..." He said. "You were that girl that helped me with the leaf cutting exercise!"

"Yes Naruto-kun." The young girl in a simple pink kimono replied before they both hopped away, dodging away from the Kiri ninjas' attacks.

"Mei-chan! Taeko-chan!" Naruto yelled as he landed beside the ice dome.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun, they're fine. My ice will protect them." She said, keeping her attention on the two kiri ninjas watching them. "Let's just take care of these guys first."

The boy nodded, wiping the tears of joy that escaped from his eyes. "Thank you for saving us..."

"Haku." The girl answered his unasked question.

"Haku." He repeated before he bent down and took off two bands from his ankle. "I owe you." He said, then in a flash, they were gone.

The Kiri ninjas hastily brought up their guards as the two kids flickered in front of them and proceeded to attack simultaneously.

Naruto broke through Kyo's guard and quickly went through a series of combination strikes which ended with a vicious clothesline , throwing the ninja to the ground hard. However, the slumped body of the ninja turned into a log with an explosive note attached to it. He quickly covered his face before he was blown away by the resulting explosion.

The blond boy winced in pain as he felt his right arm burning. He looked down and saw a piece of sharpened wood jutting out of his bicep, and blood already gushing out.

"Fuck." Naruto cursed as he pulled the shrapnel out and quickly put pressure on the wound. with his left hand.

"Naruto-kun! Are you alright?" Haku yelled, even though she was busy with the other Kiri ninja named 'Jirou'.

"Yes I'm fi-" He wasn't able to finish his answer as he narrowly dodged a barrage of water bullets that rained down on him. "Fuck!" He cursed again as he realized that his wound was taking longer to heal. He deftly rolled away from a blade of water that would've cut him in half, and flinched as a couple of trees fell. _'That could've been my head.'_

Kyo wiped the blood from his lips as he laughed maniacally. "Go on brat. Keep running. I'm going to get you soon." He said as he sent wave after wave of water blades at the injured boy.

"Naruto-kun!" Haku yelled, as she tried to help the young blond, but was hindered by Jirou.

"I'm your opponent bitch." He snapped as he blurred through hand seals. Suddenly, spires of piercing water erupted from the ground, almost impaling the young ice user.

"Shit." Haku said as she dodged the water spears._ 'I need to finish this guy quick and help Naruto-kun.'_ She thought she started to barrage the jounin with senbons while she dodged the water spires. _'But this guy isn't easy.'_

Meanwhile, Naruto was barely dodging Kyo's assault, getting nicked by the water blades here and there. "I can't just keep on dodging." He whispered to himself._ 'I'm not sure what I can do here though... and I'm almost out of chakra.'_ He thought._ 'I need conserve my energy and wait for the perfect time.'_

He saw an opening when his opponent paused to catch his breath. He quickly threw a handful of shurikens at the ninja who simply dodged them before sending another water blade, finally hitting the boy dead on.

Kyo saw the split boy poof out of existence, and saw the dodged shurikens turn into clones. _'Henge.'_ He thought before he was hit consecutively, breaking his ribs.

However, Naruto didn't give his opponent time to recover as he quickly grabbed the man around the belly. "**Kuma Senpou-**" He yelled before suplexing him over his shoulder. "**U-**"

But he didn't let go as he repeated the move, suplexing his opponent, four more times. "**Zu-**"

"**Ma-**"

"**Ki-**"

However, the last one was different. With his arms still around the man, he pumped chakra to his legs and jumped in the air, lifting the man with him. He then somersaulted in the air, twice, gaining quite bit of momentum and yelled "**-Naruto Rendan**!" before suplexing the trapped kiri nin head first to the ground, with so much force the ground cracked.

Naruto tried to get up, but staggered and eventually fell on his butt as he panted. "Shit!" He spat. "I'm so tired." He said, his vision swimming. "But at least I got him." He said as he looked back at the twitching body of the Kiri ninja who was sticking up on the ground upside down, buried from his head to his chest, while his legs awkwardly stuck out in the air.

Jirou, saw the state of his teammate and cursed. "Fuck!" He yelled as he dodged another barrage of senbons. "I'm going to kill you brats!" He yelled before making a series of seals and performing his strongest jutsu. "**Suiton: Suiryuuben**!"

A huge blob of water formed above him and appendages shot out from it, trying to impale his young opponent. He continued pump chakra into the technique, expanding it like a balloon, as more and more appendages grew out of it.

_'Damn!'_ Haku yelled in her head as she had trouble continuously dodging the ever shooting spears of water, coming from the Kiri ninja's technique. She was stabbed in the leg, arm and chest when she grabbed the exhausted Naruto and protected him from being turned into Swiss cheese by the water jutsu.

"Damn it!"

"Shit! Haku-chan are you okay?" He asked as he caught the falling girl bridal style before jumping towards the unconscious Terumi sisters. He idly noticed that their protective dome of ice was now gone as he gently eased her to the ground and quickly made three clones. "You three put pressure on her wounds!" He commanded as he struggled to get his exhausted body up into a defensive stance.

"You guys don't secretly know medical jutsus do you?" Haku asked jokingly, while blood dribbled from her lips.

"Sorry Haku-chan."

"Boss is retarded in that aspect of the ninja arts."

"He's more of a dumb brute."

The three replied lightheartedly, though tears were forming in their eyes.

_'I've got to get them out of here.'_ Naruto thought as he eyed the Kiri ninja, 'Jirou', who was approaching them menacingly. "Okay, you three. Gently lift them and get out of here. Take them as far away from here as possible."

"What about you boss?"

"I'll hold him back." The jinchuriki replied, not taking his eyes away from his enemy.

"No! Naruto-kun. We're not leaving you." Haku yelled before going into a coughing fit, spraying blood everywhere.

"Don't worry Haku-chan, I'll be fine. This guy doesn't stand a chance against me." He said confidently. "I'm going to be the Hokage someday." He told her while giving her the thumbs up. "Now, go!"

The three clones gently lifted their patients, saluted to their creator and quickly jumped away, escaping through the forest.

"No! Naruto-kun!"

"Now, it's just you and me." The Jinchuriki whispered, his vision swimming from exhaustion. _'I'm out of chakra.'_ He thought as he feebly tried keep his unconsciousness at bay.

"Wrong, It's just me." Jirou replied. "Because you're about to die!" He yelled and the deadly appendages flew towards the clearly exhausted boy. He laughed as he watched the boy get torturously impaled by his attacks. "You know what I'm going to do after I kill you? I'm going to find those three bloodline bitches of yours and rape them within an inch of their life, before I kill them slowly and painfully."

"Fuck you! Don't you dare touch them!" He yelled, bleeding out of the multiple stab wounds all over his body.

"You're a noisy brat. Die!"

Naruto saw the water appendages merge into one before flying straight at him, intending to end his young life. His body instinctively tried to move, but his destroyed muscles and injuries screamed in protest. "I'm sorry ero-sennin, Haku-chan, Taeko-chan... Mei-chan." He whispered, knowing that this was it.

The enormous water spear was almost upon him when it was suddenly cut in half by something huge that was stabbed into the ground right in front, turning the attack into a split torrent of water that went around the blonde, wide-eyed boy.

"Is- Is that a sword?" He asked before another thick mist descended upon the destroyed forest of Nakazone.

* * *

Jutsu List

**Kawarimi no Jutsu** - Substitution Technique

**Gama Senpou: hayaoki ankou** - Toad Style: Rising Sea Devil

**Suiton: Mizurappa** - Water Element: Violent water wave

**Uzumaki Naruto Rendan** - Uzumaki Naruto Combo

**Suirou no Jutsu** - Water Prison

**Kuma Senpou: Uzumaki Naruto Rendan** - Bear Style: Uzumaki Naruto Combo

**Suiton: Suiryuuben** - Water Element: Water Dragon Whip

* * *

___A/N: **WHAT? A MOTHERFUCKING SWORD?** Read and Review guys._


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

_A/N: Been a while guys. Enjoy!_

* * *

...

**An Apprentice to a Sage**

Stronghold

...

Naruto woke up with a start, only to cringe as pain wracked his entire body. He slowed his breathing to dull the pain enough so that he can open his eyes and take in his surroundings.

"Where am I?" He asked aloud, noticing that he was in some kind of medical ward and that he was wrapped in bandages. "Where's –"

The door suddenly opened and he instinctively went to grab a kunai from his inexistent pouch and winced as his body disagreed with his motions.

"Naruto!" A voice cried in alarm, before he was tackled on the bed. "Thank goodness!"

He looked down and saw the auburn hair of a sobbing Mei Terumi, splayed on his torso as she hugged him around the waist. "I thought you died." She sobbed.

His bandages started to get soaked and his body complaining from her affection so he rubbed her back awkwardly before gently prying her off of him.

"I'm fine Mei-chan." He said smiling as he cupped her face with his hands while staring into her eyes.

"Awww. Aren't you two cute?" A voice said from the door. "Go ahead and kiss her already Naruto-kun."

They turned to see older Terumi, Taeko, standing there watching them with an amused expression. Mei was instantaneously off of him, standing against the far wall of the room with and accusing finger pointing at him.

"What are you doing you pervert?"

The bandage clad boy looked at her incredulously._ 'Did she just shunshin?' _He asked in his head, before shaking his head and focusing on the present. "You were the one who jumped on me!" He yelled back.

"I was only worried about you, you pervert!"

"Stop calling me a pervert! I'm seven for kami-sake! Seven! Have you ever heard of a perverted seven year old?"

"Yeah! You!" A flushed Mei yelled. "You're master –"

They're yelling match was interrupted by melodious laughter coming from the door as Taeko walked in with a basket of fruits. "It seems as though you'll be making a full recovery Naruto-kun."

"Of course! I'm tough you know." He said proudly. He then looked around him, confused. "What happened? How long have I been out? Where's Haku-chan?"

"Haku-chan? Who's that?" A much calmer Mei asked as she tried to grab an apple from the basket but her hand was smacked by her sister.

"That's for Naruto-kun!" Taeko barked. "You've been unconscious for two days, and yeah, who's Haku-chan?"

Naruto told them what happened after they were knocked out by the giant wave. "I sent my clones to take you guys as far away from there as they could. Haku-chan should've been with you."

"The three of you were found unconscious in front of the gates by a patrolling team. There was no fourth person." A man wearing a Kiri headband with a scratch through said, following her in the room.

This man had blue hair which was shaped into a faux-hawk. He was also wearing a gray, striped turtleneck with matching pants under a teal robe and ninja sandals. However, his most pronounced feature is the fact that he had an unusual eye-patch over his left eye.

"Hello Naruto." The man greeted amicably.

However, the blonde boy stayed defensive, eyeing the man's headband warily.

"Who are you?" he demanded. "Where am I?"

"My name is Ao." He said raising his hands to show him that he meant him no harm. "I'm one of the commanders of the Kiri rebel forces. You're in one of our strongholds."

"Rebel forces?" The boy asked. "So those Kiri ninjas that attacked us are the bad guys? And these Kiri ninjas are the good guys?"

"Yes Naruto. They're the ones fighting the current Mizukage." Taeko answered as she set the fruit basket down at his bedside table. "They're the real reason why I wanted to come to Kiri. I'm planning to join them." She said.

"What?" Mei asked in surprise.

"I'm sorry for deceiving you and almost getting all of us killed in the process." Taeko said ashamed.

He looked at her and smiled. "It's okay I guess. I mean it looks like it all worked out in the end."

"So everyone was in on this but me?" Mei demanded.

"I'm sorry Mei-chan." Taeko said sadly. "You could go with Naruto-kun and Jiraiya-sama. He's already agreed –"

"So you're just going to leave me behind? Is that it?" The younger Terumi asked, tears teetering at the edge of her eyes. "Just – Just like everyone?" She whispered before running out of the room.

"Gomen." Taeko said quickly before following her distraught sister, leaving behind Naruto and Ao.

The two eyed each other as the tension in the room steadily rose. The silence was broken with a sigh by the robed man.

"Naruto-san, from what I've heard from Taeko-chan, you're Jiraiya no sannin's apprentice. Is this true?" He asked.

The blonde boy eyed him petulantly. "Yeah, so what?" He responded in a testy tone.

"Then what are you doing here in Kirigakure?" Ao asked.

"We've been employed to bring the Terumi sisters to the village of bubbling springs so they can open a clothing business." The young jinchuriki answered.

"I just heard you say you knew about Taeko-chan's plan of joining our ranks." Ao said suspiciously.

"Yes, Jiraiya-sensei informed me about it after we were attacked on the boat by Kiri ninjas." He responded.

"Then where is your sensei?" Ao asked. "Your mission is now complete. However, your sensei went off somewhere and left you. Where is he? What is he up to?"

"I don't know."

"How can you not know? He's your sensei isn't he?"

"He never told me what he was up to. All he said was that he'd back in a week."

Ao eyed him suspiciously before he sighed and nodded. His implanted dojutsu allows him to see through people's lies because of the tiny nuances and allusions that people unconsciously show, no matter how good at lying they are. From the increased heart rate to the sweatiness of their palms, his dojutsu, the byakugan, shows it all.

"Then we're going to have to keep you here until we find out your master's objective in our country." The rebel commander said.

"What? As a prisoner?" Naruto asked in outrage. "Why?"

"If he was any other ninja, we wouldn't really care. However, as a sannin, maybe even kage level, we're going to have to keep you as insurance that he's not up to something that will hinder our cause." Ao explained. "I, personally, believe that he won't be meddling in Kiri affairs, but the other commanders disagree. I'm sorry Naruto-kun."

"Seriously?" The whiskered boy asked in disbelief.

"After the trouble you've gone through to get the Terumi sisters here, I asked for some leniency on you. You'll be treated as equal among us. So you may train, practice or just plain do nothing, it's up to you. However, you're not allowed to leave the premises of the fortress. Also, you will have a pair of chuunin guards following you." The man said, breaking down his liberties while a prisoner. "Enter!"

A pair of chuunins walked in the room.

"This is Chojuro." He introduced, as a young boy wearing a pair of glasses, a gray, striped turtleneck and a pair of camo pants. He also had an ordinary looking broadsword that was strapped on his back which seems to be as tall as him.

"Hello." The boy greeted somewhat shyly.

"And this is Mitsuki." Ao said as a girl walked in the room. She had a pair of chopsticks holding her hair up, and was wearing a black battle kimono over some mesh ninja clothes. "My daughter."

"Hn." She greeted a bit snobbish.

"They'll be your guards while you're here." The man said before walking out of the room, followed by the two chunnins. "We'll leave you now to rest Naruto-san. If you require anything, these two will be posted just outside your door."

...

Haku's eyes fluttered open as he slowly came to. First thing she saw was a naked muscular chest and a bandaged face. It took her a moment to realize that she was being carried bridal style as the person was running in a blistering pace.

"Zabuza-sama." She croaked and winced in pain as the person holding her suddenly stopped.

"Haku, you're finally awake." The man said as he slowly let her stand on her feet. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit." She said before blushing. "Sorry for my language Zabuza-sama."

"It's alright Haku." He said as he took out a small package from his pouch. "Here eat this. It'll give you your strength back."

The young girl took the offered ration bar before addressing something that was bothering her. "What happened to Naruto-kun?"

The bandaged shinobi looked at her with amusement. "The runt?" He asked. "He's still alive. I left him and the two girls at the Rebel's base."

"Thank kami." She whispered. "What happened?"

"Well, I got there just as he was about to get hit by the Kiri-nin's jutsu…

...

_"Jirou." Zabuza whispered with a disgusted tone as he landed on a tree branch overlooking the clearing. 'The boy's done for.' He thought as he saw him get stabbed multiple times by the opposing shinobi's jutsu. He stealthily moved in closer as the ninja taunted the boy._

_"Wrong, It's just me." He heard Jirou say. "Because you're about to die!" The jounin yelled before the boy got torturously impaled by his attacks. "You know what I'm going to do after I kill you? I'm going to find those three bloodline bitches of yours and rape them within an inch of their life, before I kill them slowly and painfully."_

_"Fuck you! Don't you dare touch them!"_

_"You're a noisy brat. Die!"_

_"Fuck." Momochi Zabuza cursed before quickly throwing the Kubikiribōchō to block the attack on the bleeding, unconscious boy. His hands flashed through seals before whispering, "Kirigakure no Jutsu.", and a thick blanket of mist descended upon the clearing._

_Jirou, the Kiri jounin, panted as the last attack depleted his chakra reserves. "I can't believe that brat took out my team." He said as he narrowed his eyes, trying to see through the thick mist that suddenly descended upon the forest. His mouth twisted into a smirk when he sensed the boy's chakra disappearing._

_He straightened up, intending to pursuit the Terumi sisters, only to freeze mid-step as an overwhelming killing intent engulfed him, drowning him._

_"The Larynx, The spine, lungs, liver, Jugular vein, Subclavian Artery, kidney, and heart." A voice said. "These are eight vital points in the body…"_

_'This is ridiculous. Who can release this much killing intent?' The jounin asked as he struggled to breathe. His eyes scanned the thick mist wildly, as the coldness of death started to creep on him._

_He heard a twig snap somewhere behind him and snapped. "Fuck it!" He yelled before flashing through several hand seals. "Suiton: Suiryuuben!" A huge ball of water formed above his head before countless appendages shot everywhere, impaling everything around him with the water spikes._

_Jirou dropped on one knee panting, as the effects of chakra exhaustion started to get to him. "Did I get him?" He whispered. He didn't have time to ponder on it as the world was suddenly turned upside down._

_"What the-?" He tried to say, but only a gurgling noise came out. Confused, he tried to move his head, but got no response._

_'THUD'_

_His eyes widened as his vision was filled by a headless body, his body, lying in front of him as blood spurted from the severed veins from its exposed neck. Realization dawned on him as a figure walked in his peripheral._

_'You!' He rasped before everything went black._

_..._

"… I picked him up and found you with the two girls with the kekkai genkai a couple of miles from there. The closest thing that had a medical ward equipped to save that boy's life was the rebel forces' fortress at Torukawa. So I dropped the three there and I've been carrying you away since."

"Okay." She said nodding. _'I'm pretty sure Naruto-kun will survive. He's a very strong person, even if he isn't a ninja.'_

"You've gotten pretty attached with this boy. That's bad in our line of business Haku." The bandaged man said, as he fixed his hitai-ite with a strike though, at the side of his head. "So much so that you almost died for him. Who will be assisting me with my goals if you're gone?"

"I – I'm sorry Zabuza-sama." The girl rieplied.

"I'm going to train you to be merciless – to be a true shinobi." He said gravely, before smiling. "Are you ready to continue?" The bandaged man asked as he stood up and secured Kubikiribōchō on his back. "We've got a mission to do."

"H-Hai." She said, ignoring her body's protests, before quickly getting up._ 'I hope you're well Naruto-kun.'_ She thought as she followed her master, speeding through the forest.

...

"Mei's been holing up in our cabin ever since." Taeko said tiredly as she sat in the hospital room waiting for the boy to put on his shirt. He's been discharged from the medical ward after an astonished medic-nin pronounced him healthy after only three days from suffering his injuries.

"She's still upset huh?" Naruto said as he wrapped his orange scarf around his neck.

"I don't fault her. I'd be upset too if –" Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door.

'_Knock'_

'_Knock'_

"Come in." Naruto said as he secured his ninja pouch around his thigh.

"Ummm… Naruto-san?" Chojuro hesitantly asked as he poked his head in through the door. "Ao-sensei is summoning for you and Taeko-san to the commanders' quarters."

"What is it about?" Taeko asked as she stood up.

"The leader is with him and is asking for you." Chojuro responded. "Mitsuki and I will escort you there.

"The leader?" They both asked as they followed the chuunins out of the medical ward. "Who is that?"

...

"Uncle Wataru?" Taeko asked incredulously.

"Taeko-chan!" A burly man standing beside a smiling Ao, wearing royal blue battle robes, straw sandals and a straw hat yelled jovially as he hugged his niece.

She returned the hug fiercely, accidentally knocking his hat off, revealing the same auburn hair as her. "Oh uncle I've missed you!" She exclaimed, as tears of joy spilled from her eyes. "I-I thought… with mom and dad…" She said incoherently as she sobbed in the crook of his neck.

"There, there…" Her uncle said as he rubbed circles in her back. "Where's little Mei-chan?" He asked. "I heard she's here as well."

"She's in our cabin." She said.

"Let's go then!" Wataru said excitedly, before he turned and noticed Naruto's presence. "And who might this young man be?"

"This is Naruto-san." Ao introduced.

"Hello." He greeted awkwardly.

"He's the brave boy who protected your nieces from the Mizukage's shinobis and got them here safely." Ao stated.

"Really?" The burly man said in disbelief.

"He sure did." Taeko answered through her tears. "Come on! I'll tell you all about it on the way to our cabin. I'm sure Mei would be ecstatic to see you."

"Alright." The rebel leader laughed before he turned towards the blonde, whiskered boy. "Naruto, was it?" He asked and received a nod. "Come along."

And so a procession of ninjas, Ao, Mitsuki, Chojuro and their leader's guard detail, followed them towards the girls' cabin. Naruto marvelled at the rows upon rows of cabins that were located inside the rebel encampment. Ninjas bowed to Wataru as they passed and he saw the amount of respect they had for the burly, jolly man.

"We were about to take a bath when we find Jiraiya-sama's toad in the tub with us. Mei freaked out, punched the toad and ended up destroying the tub and flooding the kitchen which was located right under the bathroom." Taeko told the story animatedly as her uncle laughed at their antics.

Ao cleared his throat before announcing, "We're here."

"Oh right." Taeko said, unlocking the door. "Mei!"

"Go away!" A voice yelled back from somewhere in the small house.

"Come here! Someone wants to see you!" She continued followed by her uncle.

"Mei-chan?" Wataru yelled.

Slowly, one of the room doors opened and a messy mop of auburn hair poked out.

"Mei-chan?" The rebel leader said much softly this time.

"Uncle? Is that you?" Mei asked, looking at the familiar man that has a huge grin, standing by her sister.

"Yes. Yes Mei-hime. It is."

"Uncle Wataru!" Mei flung herself into her uncle's waiting arms before wrapping him in a fierce hug."Oh uncle! How I've missed you. I-I thought you were among… mama and papa…" She sobbed onto his chest.

Taeko couldn't stop the tears from spilling from her eyes as she watched the scene. Ao on the other hand, was discreetly coordinating guard schedules with his ninjas outside the door, knowing that their leader will probably be staying with the Terumi sisters for the remainder of his stay. Naruto was about to walk outside, feeling like he was intruding, when Wataru called out to him.

"Naruto-san. I'd be honored if you joined us for dinner tonight. My chef will prepare something special for us."

Still feeling awkward and was about to politely refuse, "Uhhhh... No th –", but his stomach decided to grumble loudly, thoroughly embarrassing himself in front of who seems to be the highly respected leader of the rebel faction in Kirigakure.

He scratched the back of his head as they laughed in his expense. "I guess I will then."

This is how he found himself having one of the best dinners he's ever had in his life while Wataru Terumi regaled them with his stories of heroics and war.

_'If what this guy says is true, then he must be as strong as ero-sensei.'_ Naruto thought as he continued to gorge himself with the excellent food while listening to the man tell them a story about when he found himself surrounded by thirty Kiri-nins.

"Wow uncle Wataru, you must be strong." Mei said with an awestruck voice.

"Maybe a little." The man said with a smile as he ruffled his youngest niece's hair. "I plan on taking you both with me to the capital."

"The capital?" Taeko asked confused.

"Oh, the main rebel base; we call it 'The Capital'. It's where I stay most of the time, and that's where the two of you will be staying as well. The reason why you'll be going, not only do I miss my dear nieces, but I'll also be training you. " He replied. "I'll be teaching you the art of war and why the Terumi clan and our kekkai genkai was feared among Kiri."

"What about Naruto-kun?" Mei asked looking at the boy sitting across from her who seemed to be stuffing as much food as he can in his mouth, who suddenly looked up when he heard his name. Shaking her head with mild disgust, "Is he coming with us?" she asked.

"Do you want him to?"

"Yes." Both sisters chorused.

"As much as I dislike this pervert, he grows on you. And we owe our lives to him. He's proven himself to be a very capable uhhh… nin – uhhh… warrior? Whatever the heck he is. You see uncle, I never wanted this, this whole joining to fight the war bullshit, but I'd feel much more comfortable going anywhere if he came along."

Naruto didn't know if he should be happy or not. _'She just complimented me, but she still called me pervert.' _He thought angrily.

The burly man studied his bold niece and the young boy sitting with them for a moment before smiling. "Naruto-san, it seems that my nieces are especially fond of you." He said with a laugh. "Would you like to join us at the capital?"

"Uhhh… I'm not sure sir." He said hesitantly. "My sensei was supposed to meet with us about a week ago. I think it'd be harder for him to find us, well me, if I kept moving locations."

"Oh yes, Ao did say that you're the apprentice of Jiraiya of the Sannin." The man said rubbing his chin. "Well, you may have a point there. However, I do know that someone of Jiraiya's stature won't have any trouble tracking anybody down, let alone his apprentice. So, either he's late for your meeting or he knows exactly where you are, but he's decided not to do anything yet." He explained. "Either way, it's your choice."

"Can I think about it?"

"Yes, but you only have until tomorrow to decide." He said. Seeing the boy nod, Wataru wiped his mouth with his napkin and stood up. "Well, it's going to be a long day tomorrow. I think I'm going to retire to my cabin now. Goodnight." He said before he went gave each of his nieces a hug.

Taeko walked him to the front door leaving the two kids behind in silence.

"I'll only go if you go." Mei said breaking the silence.

"Why? You'll be with your family. Why does it matter if I go or not?"

"As much as I'd like to be with them, I don't want to be a part of this. I hate fighting. I wasn't born to be a fighter. That's why I'm planning to go with you and your perverted sensei." She said. "And because…" She mumbled.

"Huh?"

Mei sighed before looking at her hands. "Because I'm not like Taeko. She… She's a strong person. The strongest person I know. My whole life she's been taking care of me. She's never done anything for herself ever since… ever since that day." She whispered. "She's always put me first. That's why she's still single, because she's solely focused on providing for me." She then looked directly at Naruto's eyes. "However, for the first time in her life, she's doing something that she wants. This whole joining the rebels? It's the first time she's kept something from me. It means that she REALLY wants to do this."

"So what does you staying with them have to do with anything?"

"If I stay, I'll still be her primary concern. I'll be holding her back from focusing on her training, a hundred percent and that could cost her, her life."

Naruto opened his mouth to argue, but quickly shut it. _'She may be right.'_ He thought as he looked back in his life and the near death situations he's been in. _'The only reason I've survived is because of the ridiculous training ero-sensei has put me through.'_ He couldn't even imagine what would've happened to him during those situations if he slacked off or wasn't focused while learning a new jutsu or something.

"Despite what you think of me, I'm not doing this to be petulant and because I'm still mad at her… Okay maybe I was at first, but I've been thinking about this for the past two days. This is for the best."

They sat there for a long while, lost in their own thoughts when Taeko finally came back.

"Well I'm going to do some packing before going to sleep. I'll see you two tomorrow." She said with a smile.

Mei nodded before standing up and following her sister. "Goodnight pervert."

He watched her enter room and sighed. "Ero-sensei, where are you?" He asked no one as he walked out the door.

Instantly, his two minders were on him as soon as he stepped out.

"Ummm… How did it go in there Naruto-san?" Chojuro asked as he shifted the long sword on his back to a more comfortable position as he walked beside him.

"They're going to the Capital." He answered.

"Does that mean you're going too?"

"I don't know."

"I hope you go." The sword wielding chuunin said as he placed his hands behind his head.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"So I can go with you and see Master Kushimaru again. He's a member of the legendary Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and I'm trying to get him to take me in as an apprentice." The boy answered. "It's my dream to become a member of the Seven Swordsmen." He finished shyly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Hmph. Those guys are legends. Why would he take you on as an apprentice?" Mitsuki questioned bashfully.

Naruto glared at the older girl, before turning to the downhearted boy. "I'm sure he'll take you." He said encouragingly. "I mean if ero-sensei took me as an apprentice, any master would be glad to take someone like you. I mean like, you're already a chuunin and I think you're only slightly older than me. That means you're like awesome and stuff."

"Well I'm nine and she's eleven." Chojuro replied. "And you really think so?"

"Two years older and yup, you better believe it!" Naruto yelled before noticing that he's in front of his assigned cabin already. "Well, I haven't decided it, but whatever it is I decide to do, you'll be among the first to find out. Goodnight Chojuro-san, Mitsuki-san."

"Hmph." The girl turned her head snottily as she walked to her post.

The young swordsman watched his partner with a small smile before he turned to the blonde boy. "We'll be here if anything." He said as he started walking to his post.

He slowly closed the front door before he took off his scarf and sandals, before deciding to go straight to bed. However, he ended up laying there and staring at the ceiling for a long time, deep in thought.

...

It was a bright and early morning when Naruto and Chojuro met up with Wataru, Taeko, Mei and their whole entourage that will be travelling to the Capital with them.

"Well Naruto-san?" The burly man asked as he tipped his straw hat back to be able to look at the young boy in the eyes.

"I'm…" He paused as he locked eyes with the Terumi sisters, one smiling encouragingly, while the other had a scowl, and his face broke into a huge grin. "… going to the capital."

"Yes!" Taeko yelled as she wrapped the young boy, who she considers her little brother, in a tight hug.

Naruto smiled at her before turning to her sister and noticed her smirking at him. She let him go and he walked up to Chojuro. "I'd like to meet this Master of yours."

"He's not my master." Chojuro corrected.

"Yet." The young jinchuriki finished with a thumbs up before turning to Ao and Mitsuki who approached them.

"I'm sorry for the circumstances you found yourself in while in our hospitality. I hope you at least had some semblance of fun while you were here in this fortress." Ao said formally as he bowed. "I hope you and Chojuro-kun have a safe trip."

"What about Mitsuki-san?" He asked. "Is she not coming?"

"No." The girl in question grumbled.

"She's much more needed here." Ao explained before he turned towards the young swordsman. "I'm sure Chojuro-kun will do an amiable job even in her absence. Please extend my greetings to Kushimaru-san."

Naruto nodded and turned towards the glaring girl. "I'm sorry that you won't be coming with us and thank you for watching over me while I'm here." He said as he extended his hand.

Everyone watched the two as the girl awkwardly shook the younger boy's hand. "No problem." She mumbled.

The young jinchuriki nodded and gave her a big grin. "I'm sure we'll see each other some time." He said before a clone appeared in a cloud of smoke holding his gear. "Thanks."

"No problem boss." The clone said, saluting before it dispelled.

Naruto then turned towards everyone that was waiting for him at the gate. "Let's get a move on then!" He yelled, tightening the straps of his backpack around his shoulders, making everyone laugh. Wataru nodded and made a sign with his hand and the rebel leader's six guards took their positions, forming a hexagon around their master and his party, as they departed.

When the gates closed and the travelling party was out of sight, a tiny purple frog hopped out of the forest. It croaked twice before a hand came out of it's mouth and opened it impossibly wide. In an unbelievable act, an arm shot out, bracing itself on the ground, before it pulled the rest of a white haired man's body.

The man stretched his arms and his back before noticing that his other wooden slipper was missing. He quickly grabbed the purple toad, stuck his whole arm in and rummaged for his missing footwear. His face cracked into a smile as he found it and pulled it out. Slipping his foot in tossing the toad back in the high grass of the forest, the infamous Jiraiya of the Sannin, quickly looked around if anybody saw him and turned towards where the party travelled towards.

"So, the gaki went with Wataru to the capital eh?" He asked no one as he jumped up to the closest tree and followed after his apprentice. _'That's okay. The town of Hanamaki where the rebel capital is located, is famous for it's hotsprings.'_He thought.

A lecherous smile appeared on his face as he imagined the kind of material he'll be able to acquire for his research. He almost missed the tree branch he was trying to land on as he wiped the blood dripping from his nose.

"I guess we're staying in Kiri for a little longer."

* * *

_A/N: Like always, R&R guys._


End file.
